A Darker Side
by magnus2010
Summary: Im back. Story is about to undergo a rewrite. Not happy with where i let it go. PM with any questions. Looking for help. look at bottom of my profile page for more info on both story changes and what the help involves.
1. Death

(Authors Note- Hi guys, this is my first story, so please try to be a little patient with me but I do appreciate any form of support or criticism so say what you think. You'll have to forgive me for the first chapter since I'll only really be focusing on Ichigo. Some characters will end up being oc-ish, and I plan on killing a few during the course of the story, so I have to ask that you to refrain from hiring any assassins to murder me in my sleep. I hope you enjoy the first chapter. )

A Darker Side

Quick Summary-The fight against Aizen and his espada has still yet to show signs of a victor as both sides have suffered defeats. The remainder of Aizen's present forces include the espada Coyote Stark and Tia Halibel, who are both near death, and ex-captains Ichimaru Gin and Sousuke Aizen himself, who are currently in combat with Ichigo and Isshin Kurosaki. On Soul Societies side there are many heavy injuries and no confirmed deaths, and all able captains and lieutenants are currently busy treating their wounded comrades while their remaining forces attempt to make their escape from Hueco Mundo to aid them. Now as the fight looks like it is coming to a close, Ichigo attempts to defeat Gin so he can help his father finish the war.

Chapter 1: Death

_Fake Karakura Town- Ichigo vs Gin_

"_I have to beat this guy before he gets a good hit on me with his bankai" _Ichigo thought to himself as he blocked Gins bankai, Kamishini no Yari, which he had been trying unsuccessfully to aim at Ichigo's heart with for the past several minutes. After Gin had told him the speed at which his zanpakuto extended and retracted at, Ichigo had been completely on the defensive.

"Ya really are a scary kid, ya know that Kurosaki? Most folks woulda been dead by now." Gin said to him, the grin never fading off his face.

They had only been fighting for around 7-8 minutes, but Gin had already cut the town in half when he released his bankai as he showed off its incredible length to distract him. Ichigo couldn't help but wonder if anyone had been hit by the attack. Most of the buildings kept standing while others had or currently were sliding off their bases after being cut.

Ichigo would often feel a rush of wind, or notice a new cut in his robes, as the Gin attempted to impale him with his swords unparraleled speed. He had been successful in stabbing Ichigo 4 times, leaving leaving small cuts near the outsides of his chest and arms, which bleed slightly, but Ichigo had also put a few gashes on Gins face and arms as well. The battle was one solely of speed, their swords appeared to be blurrs as the two Shinigami tried to stab, slash, and cut the other down.

Ichigo quickly swings upward and pushes Gin into the air and then jumps after him, he begins moving around him at his fastest speed, creating Afterimages of himself to seemingly surround his enemy from all angles. He's used this tactic before but now he has a new idea for it.

"_Ya'll hafta be faster than that ta beat me kid" _Gin yells at him as he observes the movements of Ichigo's after images, watching for and blocking the oncoming attacks._"He's right, I need more speed. I hope this works."_ Ichigo thought to himself as he puts his hand up to his face, he quickly brings it back down, forming his new hollow mask, as he says to Gin, "I'm sorry, but we need to finish this."

Ichigo's speed increases with the boost of his vizard abilities and he dissapears from Gin's sight, the ex-captain still grinning. Suddenly the area is filled with Ichigo's hollowfied voice, "getsuga tenshou", immediately the waves of black reiatsu come flying from every direction. After a few seconds, he starts to jump in to attack the ex-captain directly.

As Gin begins to be overwhelmed by the attacks he notices one of the many Ichigos jump in to attack, and Gin aims his sword. As his sword extends, he feels a sharp pain in his chest and he looks down. A black blade surrounded by black reiatsu is protruding through his chest. "You're pretty scary, ya know that kid?" he says at he realizes he's beaten.

"H..hey kid," Gin says as he looks back at the shinigami, while blood begins to come out of his mouth, "Ya know Ra....Rangiku right?", Ichigo nods, as he removes his mask. "Good. . . . . . . . . tell her that sh. . . .that she was the reason I could . . . .always . . . . keep smilin" the last words are barely audible but Ichigo hears them,"I'll tell her." Gins grin lessens a little as his head dips down, and Ichigo removes his blade, and the captain falls to the ground. Before he walks away, Ichigo looks upon the Gins face. The former captain of squad 3 kept his smile, even in death.

Ichigo looked in the distance to observe his father's fight with Aizen. It looked pretty even from a distance, but he'd have to get close to know for sure. Ichigo sat down on the edge of the building and closed his eyes

Ichigos Inner World

_Ichigo opens his eyes again, this time to view his inner world. He looks around for a minute, he can't see Zangetsu but he wasn't looking for him anyway. He was looking for his hollow, or the 'horse', as the hollow last referred to himself. He couldn't see him but he knew he was here. He had to be back, it was the only explaination for what happened in his fight against Ulquiorra._

"_Come on out, I know your here." and as he finished a laughter filled the area, followed by a voice Ichigo hadn't heard in a while "_**Yo king, you woulda been dead back on top of that dome if I didn't decide to save your ass. Don't you think you should thank me?**"

"Yea, thanks a lot, you stabbed Ishida and you probably would have killed him If I didn't take over back then. But i'm not worried about that, you know why i'm here." Ichigo said as he still looked for the hollow.

Suddenly, he felt a almost impossibly strong reiatsu flare behind him so he turned around. Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw his hollow. He looked just like what Orihime described to him while she healed him after his fight with Ulquiorra. He had a sinister looking skull mask with horns. His wrists, ankles and neck had tufts of red fur, and his hair was longer, goin down to his back, only his hair was white instead of orange. His hands and feet had claws, and the upper half of his robes were gone, revealing a hole in his chest with dark tatoo-ish marks around it, making it look like some kind of dark sun. Ichigo was stunned, and it was obvious.

"_**Suprised at the new look king. We've gained enough power for me to finally reach my full form." **_his hollow said as he waived his hands over himself and his reiatsu flared once again, shaking the building they were on.** "But besides that, I'm here to fulfill my promise. I told you I'd teach you how to really use my powers if you grew stronger, but I have to warn you." **the hollows eyes narrowed to slits as he spoke

"_**If yo**__**u**__** do this, you'll be changed for good. None of the other vizards have this power, probably to scared to even try. Since you managed to stay king I'll let you know when the time is right, you can choose then. Until th**__**en**__** I'll loan you a new power. It's nothing special but it will help a little."**_ he walked forward, and stopped when he was in front of Ichigo. He stuck his hand inches in front of Ichigo's face, and whispered **"Don't give in king." **and he then shoved Ichigo off the building, and Ichigo returned back to the real world.

Back in the Fake Karakura Town

Ichigo's eyes shot open as he thought about what his hollow said. _"A new power that even Shinji and the others don't have? Maybe this is what I need to beat Aizen. . . . . .but if its him offering then I shouldn't do it. I only have one more chance. I have to win."_ He decided to quickly check on the others reiatsu. Everyone was still alive, except the espada's pressense was now gone. _"Good, maybe they're dead like the others. That means all thats left now is Aizen."_

Ichigo then stood up and looked again to his fathers fight with Aizen. His dad was still fighting, but Ichigo could tell Aizen was winning. "I'll just have to do this with what I have." he takes one more look at where the espadas last were, then quickly focuses on Aizen, and shunpo's towards the fight.

As Ichigo nears the fight, he sees Aizen jump onto the top of the nearest building as he raises his hand and shouts, "Hado 63: Raikoho" and a large blast of yellow lightning shoots at Isshin who manages to counter in time, "Bakudo 81: Danku" and a barrier appears just in time to block Aizen's attack, but he quickly follows up with a counter attack, "Hado 88: Hiryugekizoku shintenraiho," releasing a massive blue beam of energy at Isshin, breaking the barrier but fading away before it hits Ishhin, but Aizen is already behind him, "Bakudo 63: Hyapprankan" binding Isshin in what seems to be glowing chains of gold. Sensing Ichigo, Aizen kicks Isshin into another building as he feels young Kurosaki closing in.

Aizen has a small smile on his face as he turns to face the new opponent. Ichigo kicks off of the closest building and goes into a side ways spin throught the air as he lifts his hand to his face to re form his hollow mask. As he finishes the spin he releases a powerful downward slash, causing the roof of the building to cave in as the two opponents meet blades.

As Ichigo brings his sword down, he yells "GETSUGA TENSHOU" in his hollowfied voice, releasing a gigantic black wave of energy upon Aizen, slashing the tower down the middle. Ichigo immediately kicks off into the air and fires off 2 more getsugas before landing and observing the large cloud of dust and debris..

Ichigo looks around, looking and feeling for his opponent, when he suddenly feels a strong reiatsu right behind him. Ichigo turns just in time to block Aizen, clothes now tattered and torn but otherwise unharmed, as he pushes back Ichigo with a powerful attack, pushing Ichigo back.

"_Guess its time to try it"_ and he raises his hand and focuses his hollow power into it, causing a red orb to appear in his hand. When he sees it, Aizen quickly points his index finger at Ichigo and mutters "Hado 4: Byakurai" and the concentrated bolt of lightning shoots through the center of Ichog's chest just before he releases his cero. Ichigo's eyes widen in shock as it fades away

Aizen slowly lowers his hand as he looks at Ichigo, a small smile on his face. "I thought you would do better than this. Now Their last hope has failed them and I am free to retreat and reform a new army." a new army." he watches the life slowly fade out of Ichigo's eyes. "you have a few more minutes before you fade away, I'll leave you to die in peace." And with that Aizen fades Away

A minute passes and all Ichigo can do is stare at the sky in wonder._ "If only I was stronger. Just one more chance. I'll do anything, go to any length, to kill Aizen."_as he lies on the ground he can hear the voice of someone yelling at him. "Ichi. . don't. . . di . . . tay . . .ali. ." He feels wet drops hit his face. He uses the last of his strength to look over and sees a black space against the blue sky, and two people, one in all white, the other in all black, sitting over him, crying. And then it all goes black

The Void

Ichigo sat in the black nothingness, his wounds were gone, his body felt whole and free of pain. He wondered if death was so bad. Then he heard him. **"Its time to make your ****decision**** king. ****You'll have one more chance****. You won'****t belong to human, shinigami or hollows****. Your power will corrupt you and those around you if you don't learn to control it."** Ichigo thought about it for a few seconds, and then said," If it gives me the power to beat, Aizen, I'll do anything". His hollow began laughing as he felt the pain returning to his body, the light started to come back.

"**First sensible thing you ever said, king"**

(So that's Chapter 1, hope you liked it. The next Chapter will explain some things I brought up, like what happened to the espada, who Ichigo saw last, and what happened to the rest of Soul Societies forces. I'm looking for a few good character ideas so if you have one send it in, I'm looking for a little of everything. email me what you want and it will most likely be added in. I'm also planning to give Ichigo a lady friend. At the moment it's gonna be Rukia, Nel, or Halibel, but if a good female character idea comes in, I might use her. Please comment, I'll even take hate mail. I'll have the next chapter up asap. See ya then.)


	2. Hollow

(Authors note-Hey guys and girls, got the chapter up sooner than I thought so I hope you like it. I was pretty happy to get 5 reviews in only around 12 hours after release, so I'd like to thank animelover1993, yeven zane, glad to be alive, Zangetsu50, and an extra thank you to Dark Jason for their reviews. Hope you enjoy it.)

Chapter 2: A Hollow Gaze

Stark & Lilynette, during Ichigo's fight with Gin

In a corner of the fake town that has housed the battle between Soul Society and the espada, one of the many piles of rubble began to tremble as something underneath began to move. As the moving stopped it was quickly followed by a beam of energy that revealed an extended hand, with a tattoo of the number 1 on the back. It was followed by a body holding a small arrancar in it's other arm. Coyote Stark, primera of the espada, was still alive.

As he pulled himself free of the pile he looked down at his other half, Lilynette Gingerback, who was currently unconscious and covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises. He looked up and saw the remains of a building that had been severed from its top. When he looked around the inside of the base he saw a stairway going down to a basement and he quickly followed it to find a place to let his fraccion rest. _"If we're lucky, the shinigami didn't notice anything and still we're dead."_ he thought to himself as he looked for a place to set her down.

When he found a good place to let her rest he sat down next to her and began sniffing the air, his form of pesquisa, as he tried to sense any other surviving espada or fraccion. After a moment, the only ones he sensed who were familiar were Gin, Aizen, and one other arrancar close to him, but it was weak and he couldn't tell who it was. He sighed as he looked back down at Lilynette, who had a look of pain on her face now, but he noticed her injuries had all closed, leaving only bruises and a few small scars, they would heal soon enough Suddenly he felt the unknown reiatsu flare and he quickly realized who it was. He had to hurry, but he didn't want to leave Lilynette. After a few seconds he leaned down, picked her up in his arms and used sonido to get back onto the street. He turned to the direction of the reiatsu and focused on it, after a moment he disappeared instantly, as he made his way to help the trecera espada, Tia Halibel

Halibel, moments before

Tia Halibel woke to find herself laying on the edge of a street, and as she sat up, she felt pain from where Aizen had stabbed her but the wounds were gone. She was dazed for a moment before remembering the death of her fraccion and Aizen's betrayal. She felt her anger grow as her reiatsu began to pour out. As she felt reiatsu appear behind her, she turned to face Hitsugaya, and Rangiku, both were wounded with somewhat labored breathing. Even though her outer wounds were mostly healed, she wasn't sure if she was ready to fight the two in front of her in her battered state, but her anger at the loss of her fraccion drove her to fight.

Just as she reached to draw her sword, Stark appeared behind her with Lilynette in one arm as he grabbed Halibel around her waist and vanished he used his sonido, leaving the two shinigami wide eyed in shock. A few seconds later, Stark's group appeared in the middle of a street as far away from the fighting as he could take them. Halibel stared at him for a moment as he set down Lilynette, "What are you doing," she asked in her emotionless voice. When Stark finished checking Lilynette, he looked up at the female espada for a few moments, and sighed before he finally spoke, "I'm taking Lily back to Las Noches, and since you were still alive, I thought I'd give you the chance to go with us. Make your decision soon, I don't feel like getting caught by the shinigami." and as he finished he tapped the air in front of him, opening a garganta.

At hearing this Halibel could only wonder at his reasoning. _"Why would he show himself to the enemy, risking him and his fraccion, just to give me a chance to escape?" _As she thought over this for a second she saw Stark pick up Lilynette once again as he stepped into the rip in space. Once inside he looked back at her, "Are you coming or are you still determined for revenge?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned to him with a slight glare and walked into the portal and simply said, "It can wait," as the garganta closed behind her.

Los Noches, just before Ichigo fights Aizen

After she had been healed by Isane, Rukia had gone over to her brother, Captain Kuchiki, who was facing away from her. When she stopped a few feet away, after noticing him watching a tiny screen of kido, Byakuya acknowledged her and motioned for her to approach him. "How is the fight going nii-sama?" she asked as she sat a little behind him. Byakuya passed a hand over the kido as he turned to face her, "Ichigo Kurosaki, Aizen, and an unknown shinigami are the last in fighting condition, although the unknown man looks as if he is tiring. Kurosaki and Aizen will most likely face each other very soon." he said in an emotionless voice as he began looking in the direction of Captain Kurotsuchi, "Make sure Kurosaki's friends are prepared, we will be leaving immediately to provide support." he told her as he began to walk in the direction of the captain. "Yes nii-sama." Rukia said as she stood and went over to Inoue, Chad, and Ishida, who were sitting against a piece of stone a few dozen yards away.

"Hello Rukia!" Inoue said, waiving when she saw her approaching. Rukia smiled at her before she addressed the group. "Nii-sama has asked that you all be prepared to leave, we are going to give Ichigo our help." Hearing this, the three friends stood and stretched, "we're ready," Inoue and Ishida both said as Chad gave a small nod. The four now turned and saw Kurotsuchi and Nemu, each standing on a pillar, as they opened the garganta before they jumped down ushered everyone through. "About damn time, I'm gonna miss all the action." they heard Zaraki say as he stepped through with Yachiru on his shoulder. He was followed by Byakuya, Isane, and Nemu before Rukia, and her group all entered, followed lastly by Kurotsuchi, who closed the opening. While they all had different reasons, the entire group thought the same thing. _"I hope we make it in time."_

Fake Karakura town, several minutes later

As the garganta opened, the group came upon the scene of Captain Unohana healing Captain Yamamoto, who was covered in burns. "How did this happen?" all three captains asked at once, while Isane ran to heal others who were scattered around, with varying degrees of wounds. As everyone got settled Hitsugaya and Rangiku appeared next to the captain commander, both kneeling, "We lost sight of espada Tia Halibel when someone appeared and took her away. We believe it was Coyote Stark, primera espada." Yamamoto sighed before he spoke, "It is regrettable that they have escaped. We will capture and kill them later to ensure the full victory in the fight against the espada." Suddenly, everyone's eyes were open wide, as Ichigo's reiatsu suddenly began to drop rapidly, followed by Aizen appearing in the air only seconds later, twenty feet above them.

Aizen looked down upon them with a small smile on his face, his clothes somewhat torn from battle but otherwise unharmed, "Now that all the captains are here, I think I'll retreat for now. So I don't seem rude, I left you a parting gift. You'll find the body of Ichigo Kurosaki, though I won't disclose where, lying among the rubble of this doomed town." as he said this, Rukia's hand shot to her mouth, Inoue dropped to her knees, and Both Chad and Ishida looked as if they needed help standing. _"I have to find him, I can't lose him"_ Rukia Thought as she steadied herself before using shunpo to get to where she last noticed Ichigo's fading reiatsu. Inoue suddenly stood up as tried to wipe the tears filling her eyes, "Someone take me to him!!" she shouted, "I can save him, I can reverse it, I know I can!!", and Ishida appeared at her side as he placed his hand on her shoulder. He used hirenkyaku to take them to Ichigo's location.

"I have lost interest in him and what he represented. I will leave you with a victory today, we can settle this amusing war later." he said as drew his sword and inserted it into the air, causing the end to disappear in a newly formed gate. It looked as if the doors were made of a combination of human bones, broken hollow masks, and rusted zanpakuto. As it opened, all one could see inside were dark flames accompanied by very dark and violent reiatsu. At seeing this, the captain commanders eyes opened in complete shock. Aizen, noticing this, stepped through with a smug look on his face. "Until we meet again." he spoke, and then the gates closed before disappearing.

It was then that Yamamoto spoke up, "All shinigami are to return to Soul Society. We will leave the task of the fake Karakura town to Kisuke Urahara and his group. I would like to ask former Captain Hirako and his group to watch over Karakura town for the moment." Shinji nodded as he rested against a building, his smile gone. "We leave immediately.", and with that, Commander Yamamoto stood with the help of Captain Unohana and opened a gate to Soul Society that all the shinigami walked through, some with the help of others. No one spoke.

Near Ichigo, moments before "death"

As Rukia appeared next to Ichigo, she collapses. She was completely stunned at the sight. He barely looked injured, but the life was noticeably disappearing from his eyes. Before she could think of anything to say, Orihime appeared with Ishida behind her, at seeing Ichigo, she began crying. "Ichigo!! Don't die, you have to stay alive, please don't die!!" Inoue was instantly next to him, tears streaming down her face. As Rukia and Inoue sat next to him, Ishida turned his back and disappeared, leaving the two women to grieve. After he disappeared, the two were shocked when Ichigo turned his head towards them, before he eyes lost all life.

Soten Kisshun: I Reject!" she said, as she forced back the tears as best she could. The healing barrier quickly reverted Ichigo to a state where he looks completely uninjured, and for a few moments nothing happened. Then a black liquid began to come out of Ichigo's eyes and mouth. As it began to run down his face, it quickly turned to a thick black smoke. As the smoke filled the barrier, cracks appeared and slowly began to cover the entirety of it, before it shattered and the black smoke shot out in all directions.

Before either one could react, the smoke filled their mouths and they breathed it in. It had no flavor or texture, but the unknown substance caused both to suddenly feel ill and become very weak and tired. As they both began to collapse, the last thing they saw was the smoke clearing, revealing Ichigo's back, as he stood above them.

Ichigo looked down around at the black smoke surrounding him before turning around. When he saw his two friends on the ground, smoke surround them, he picked them both up, one under each arm, and shunpo'd away, landing on a nearby building. He set both girls down and made sure they looked comfortable as Ishida appeared behind them, a look of worry on his face, "Is that really you Kurosaki?" he asked, remembering the last time the orange haired shinigami came back from the dead, he'd been less than friendly. "Of course it's me", Ichigo said in a hollowfied voice. As he turned to see the quincy, he saw a look of complete surprise on his friends face.

While his voice sounded hollowfied, and his eyes were black and gold, his face was unmasked.

(Authors note- I didn't really like this chapter but I had to do it for details excluded from the last chapter. I'm hoping to have the next chapter out in 3-4 days or less. The next chapter is when everything should start to get good, and Ichigo's "problem" gets some attention, so I hope you stay tuned.

For the girls poll, Rukia is winning with 2 votes and Halibel has one. If you feel like changing the odds a bit, make sure you speak up.

And if anyone has any character ideas for any shinigami or arrancar, let me know. I'd like to add in around 10-20 and I'd love to avoid making them all myself.

See ya next chapter.)


	3. Into The Dark

(Authors note- Hey guys, here the next chapter. I didn't proof read it as much as I usually do, so I apologize for mistakes. I want to thank those of you who posted, and those of you who sent in character ideas. After adding the reviews and my inbox together, I have a tie for the women. It was a tie between Rukia and Halibel, so I'll be the tie breaker (Kinda unfair right?), and let Miss Kuchiki go home with the win. I'll probably add in some other pairings, so we will see what happens. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 3: Into the Dark

Ichigo, Fake Karakura Town

Ichigo completely ignored Ishida's look of surprise as he went back to caring for the unconscious girls. "What happened since I died?" Ichigo asked, making Ishida flinch at the hollowfied tone, as he made sure they were comfortable. Ishida stood for a few seconds before he began to fill in Ichigo on what he had seen and heard about the war since he last saw him. ". . And Aizen said you would be dead when we found you. It was then that I brought Inoue to you, and Kuchiki was already here. You were very close to death. Then you actually died, I thought you were past the point of saving. But since you are alive, that means we still have a chance to win this war." Ishida finished, looking to the orange-haired shinigami. Ichigo stood and faced him. It was then that Kisuke Urahara appeared, with an amused look on his face.

"So you didn't die? Good, some of us didn't believe it anyway, especially your dad. Said he wouldn't allow his son to die a virgin." Kisuke said with a large smile as Ichigo, who became instantly red, launched an immediate haymaker, hitting Kisuke directly in the face. It took a few moments before he was able to speak again, still holding his nose. "How did you survive though? I was told Aizen sounded positive you would be dead."

Ichigo looked at the two men for a moment, letting out an aggravated sigh, "I did die, but once again my hollow saved me. I'll explain the whole story once we get to your shop so these two can rest." He finished, as he went to lift Rukia in his arms, while Ishida took Inoue.

At Urahara's Shop

They got to the store in a few minutes, and Ichigo immediately made sure the girls got to beds before he went to sit down Kisuke's back room. "I need you to go and disassemble the fake town. I would go but I know it was made by forbidden kido so I won't interfere with you while you handle it." Kisuke told Tessai, who placed some tea on the table before he nodded and walked out of the room. He took a drink before he looked over at Ichigo. "So, now that we're here and everyone comfortable. What exactly happened between you and your hollow?" Ichigo took a drink before he began describing what he experienced in his world.

Flash back, Ichigo's Inner World,

Ichigo opened his eyes to find himself standing on the side of one of the many buildings in his world. He saw his hollow, still in his slightly disturbing new form, and Zangetsu, both standing in front of him. As Ichigo stood there, about to ask why he was here, his hollow let out a low, maniacal laugh. He and Zangetsu suddenly exploded into a thick, black, spiraling cloud of smoke that surrounded him and spun for a few moments before shooting straight at Ichigo, covering him completely as it seeped into his skin. He began felt cold as the gas disappeared completely into his body. _"What happened? What did they do?"_ Ichigo thought as he continued coughing for a moment.

**"This is all we do for you king, you now have all of our power at your disposal."** the hollows voice echoed out, filling his inner world, and then Zangetsu spoke up_"We can't make you any stronger Ichigo. It's up to you whether you grow in strength or are crushed underneath your enemies."_ Now his hollow spoke up, his voice unemotional.** "It will take some time for our fusion will be complete. When it's done, you'll know everything we have to offer. You'll know how to use all of our abilities."** A confused look covered Ichigo's face. "Where are you going? Won't you both still be here when I come here?" The hollow laughed at this. **"We will become a part of you, even more than we are now. It will be a perfect mixture of our minds, strengths, and personalities." **"I'm not sure I like the sound of that. What will happen to you Zangetsu? Will you still be the same?" Zangetsu spoke up to answer. _"Nothing will be entirely the same, but my released forms will not look any different, if that's what you wished to know." _He said, as the hollow laughed some more.

After a moment, they both began to speak, in a more serious tone, _**"Don't get over confident, you'll be strong, but you won't be invincible."**_ Ichigo immediately thought of Inoue._** "No, her power is too weak to revive us. If you die again, you'll stay that way."**_ They said, as their voices faded away. As they disappeared from the landscape, Ichigo found himself standing back in the real world, near two women he knew well.

Back in Urahara's Shop

As Ichigo finished his story, he noticed the intrigued look on Urahara's face. "So, that's what it is. Very interesting." The store owner said. Ichigo spoke up at once. "What do you mean 'that's it', and 'very interesting,' you're making no sense." Kisuke took a long drink of tea before he spoke up. "Ichigo, you are closer to the dreams of every willing vizard and arrancar in recorded history. If my hypothesis is correct, you are becoming a perfect hybrid of not only shinigami and hollow, but human as well. You'll have unlimited potential to grow in power. Even now your strength is twice that of when you fought Aizen. When the fusion is complete, and with some training, you could be stronger than anyone." He finished, as he set his chin in his hand, contemplating the outcomes.

"Soul Society won't like this. They never accepted the so called 'half-breeds.' Shinji and his group are proof of that." "I kind of expected that, but I'll try to talk to Yamamoto before I do anything stupid." Ichigo said as he stood up. "I'm going to take Rukia back to Soul Society and have my talk with Yamamoto. I'll need to ask a favor of you before I go." Kisuke looked at him with his smile back in place. "Of course, what do you need?"

Head Captain Yamamoto's Office, a few hours later

"Ichigo Kurosaki has asked to speak with you sir." Yamamoto's lieutenant said from a low bow. "Let him in." Yamamoto said, as he set the papers that needed his approval aside. "Yes sir." His lieutenant said as he opened the doors to allow Ichigo to enter before he left, closing the doors behind him. He noticed Ichigo was wearing the Shihoin cloak he had worn during his rescue of Rukia Kuchiki. He now had a look of seriousness that he had seen during the daring rescue. "_Wait . . . his eyes, they resembled a hollows"_ he thought as he noticed Ichigo's black and gold eyes. "What is it you wish to talk about Kurosaki?" the captain said, setting his hands on his lap. Ichigo looked at the head captain a moment before he told the story of what Kisuke had thought about his change, only slightly surprising the head captain with is new voice. When Ichigo finished, he watched the captain for a moment, he seemed to be thinking on what Ichigo had said.

"This is regrettable," the head captain spoke. "But former Captain Urahara is correct. We cannot allow you to have these new powers that may pose a threat to Soul Society. Since you have been of much help to us, I will give you the chance to repent by helping us destroy Aizen and his threat. At that time, or if you are not agreeable to my terms, you will be executed as a threat to Soul Society." The captain finished, looking at Ichigo, who seemed unfazed by this information. "What if I decide to run? We both know the only one who can match me in speed will not attempt to capture me for your idea of justice." The captain simply nodded at the comment. "I am well aware of that, but I have already closed the exits of Seireitei in our war-time situation. Even if you manage to enter the spirit gate without permission to attempt to return to Urahara's shop, you would be trapped in the dangai. As a small favor for your help up to this point, I will give you until tomorrow morning to decide. If you do not return I will send the order for your execution." As he finished, Ichigo sighed as he used shunpo, heading in the direction of the 4th squad barracks, where he had left Rukia to recover.

4th Squad Barracks 

Rukia had awoken a while ago, surprised to find herself back in Seireitei. She recalled losing consciousness as a thick black smoke surrounded and filled her lungs, and she had seen Ichigo rise from his death. Ever since that point, all she could remember were nightmares that brought up memories where she had felt fear, guilt, doubt, and completely helpless. Always in the background of the memories, she had seen a twisted version of herself, always laughing a cold, twisted version of her own laugh. It was dark, hateful, and always seemed to make every situation she was in even worse. When she had finally awoken, she had been covered in a cold sweat. She had immediately gone to take a shower but was told to return afterwards so the medics could keep an eye on her. She had just returned to her assigned room and rested on her bed when Ichigo arrived via shunpo. He was looking kind of worried as he removed his cloak and sat at the end of the bed.

"What's wrong Ichigo? You look like something's bothering you." Rukia said, as she looked at his face for more signs of trouble. "I'm happy to see your awake but I'm leaving Rukia, and I want to ask you to go with me. I can't come back and if you leave, you will probably never be allowed to come back here either." she gasped at hearing this. "Why are you leaving? More importantly why won't you be coming back?" _"And why does he want me to go with him?"_ Rukia thought to herself, blushing slightly. Ichigo didn't notice this, so he began to fill her in on what had happened to him since his revival and his conversation with the Captain Commander. Once he finished she still only had one question left.

"So you're leaving because Soul Society will not allow you to exist with your hollow, and that's also why you can't return, but why are you asking me to come with you?" she said, and suddenly a look of mock surprise covered her face, "You're not trying to get me to elope with you are you!" she said, trying to throw him off guard. When he heard this, Ichigo turned bright red as he tried to answer. "Wh . . ? N-no! I . . . I didn't mean anything like that! I asked because I'm worried about you. They might use you to get to me, and I don't want you getting hurt over me." He said, before walking over to the window, still looking quite embarrassed. "When you make your decision, I'm leaving immediately." He finished and then shunpo'd away. Rukia sat up in her bed, smiling at how honest her comment had made him. _"I guess I should prepare for life as an outcast."_ She thought as she got up and left the room.

Soukyoku Hill

Ichigo sat on the edge of the hill, overlooking a moonlit Soul Society. He had been here since earlier that afternoon when he had told Rukia what he planned on doing. While he had been sitting there over the last few hours, Ichigo had noticed he was leaking less reiatsu than usual in the time since his revival. It had been almost a whole day since he had been 'killed' and he was sure his reiatsu had only grown stronger, but he could tell there was less overflow than normal. As he sat and thought about it, his mind suddenly filled with an image showing him opening a rip in the air to reveal a dark portal filled with shadows. After a few seconds, the images disappeared, leaving Ichigo breathing heavily. When he finally got his breathing under control, he noticed Rukia approaching.

She appeared wearing a cloak with a small bag over her shoulder, looking prepared to leave. _"Guess she has made her choice."_ He thought, almost grinning as he stood up. "I kinda thought you wouldn't want to leave. Won't Byakuya be mad when he figures out that you have fled with a wanted man?" Rukia smiled as she looked at him, noticing how different his reiatsu was now. It seemed more refined now, she thought, as he let off an energy that felt warm and protective, but also violent and dark. As he faced her with his back to the moon, she thought he looked like some kind of dark hero, someone who could protect an entire kingdom by himself, and destroy it just as easily.

"Of course, he will be furious, and will most likely ask to lead whatever team they send after you, but I trust your strength enough that it doesn't worry me." She said, smiling even more. Ichigo got a smug look on his face at hearing her praise his power. "I'm glad you decided to come, because I'm going to be relying on you for help once we get to our destination." And with that he drew his sword and slashed at the air in front of him, leaving a cut in the very air, as he reached forward and pried the cut open. "Hope you don't mind sand." He said with a smirk, as he finished opening a garganta. They both entered, and took one look back at Seireitei.

"Goodbye everyone" Rukia whispered as the garganta closed, leaving them surrounded in darkness.

( Hope you liked the chapter. I'm sorry for the wait, I got trapped in xbox 360 land for a day or two or I would have had it posted Sunday afternoon. This chapter should finish explaining what happened to Ichigo, his hollow, and Zangetsu. I'll try to have the next one up before Sunday, but I plan on slowing down a little bit after that since it's getting close to finals week at school. Please review, comment, and criticize. )


	4. Blessed is the King

(Authors note- Sorry for the late chapter. I recently had an idea for a new story, which also caused me to lose my ideas for this chapter. After I did remember, I looked through it once or twice, spell checked some, and tried to make sure it reads okay. If anyone wants to proof read for me, let me know and I'll send you copies of my new chapters before I officially post them. I could use the help, and it would be greatly appreciated. Here's the new chapter, hope you like it.)

Chapter 4:

Inside the Garganta

Ichigo and Rukia had been in the garganta only a few minutes when Ichigo stopped and sighed. "This is going to take too long moving at your speed." He said, as he lifted his sword directly in front of him, and lazily spoke, "Bankai". He was surrounded by energy and wind for a moment before it cleared, revealing Ichigo in his bankai form.

Rukia was taken by surprise when Ichigo vanished from her sight and suddenly appeared behind her. "W-what are you doing?" she said in a high voice as he picked her up in his arms and starting moving at full speed.

"You're too slow, so I'm gonna speed things up." He said simply, but as he looked at her face, he noticed she had turned red when he picked her up, causing him to laugh. "What's wrong Rukia? I thought you'd be fine with being carried by the man you left Soul Society to elope with?" he said, his voice thick with sarcasm. Rukia crossed her and looked away from him as he carried her through the garganta. After a few moments he came to a stop. He looked around for a moment before he reached for his sword and slashed put in front of him, opening the garganta to reveal Hueco Mundo. "We're here."

Sand Field of Hueco Mundo

Once he had exited the portal, Ichigo set Rukia down and began looking off into the distance of the endless desert, with Los Noches clearly only a few dozen miles away. "What are you looking for Ichigo?" Rukia said as she watched him look into the distance. "The original plan was to return to Urahara and get supplies, then have him send us here, but after the captain commander sealed the way back to the real world, I had to use the garganta. I had Urahara teach me how to use the ability, but I only had time to learn my way to Hueco Mundo."

"So you don't know how to get back to Urahara's shop, and that means we don't have supplies, which means we will most likely starve to death," she scolded. "We won't starve. I wouldn't have brought you if I didn't think I could provide for you." Ichigo said closed his eyes and began to focus on the reiatsu of the area. "I can sense some of the espada in Los Noches, but I can't feel Aizen anywhere. Urahara said he didn't think he would be here but I still wasn't sure." Ichigo said. "I was told by one of the medics that he exited through a gate that no one recognized. He may be in a completely unknown dimension." Rukia added.

"I guess that's good for the moment, but there is still the problem of the espada." Ichigo said in a low voice. Rukia looked at him slightly confused "Why? What's the problem?" she asked. "Well, since Aizen is gone, and we just cleared most of Los Noches, I figured we could take it over." Ichigo said simply, bringing a completely dumbfounded look to Rukia's face. ". . . . . . W . . .What! How did you come up with that idiotic idea? We just killed most of the Espada and you plan to just walk right in and take over the one place that they have called home for as long as Soul Society can remember? Hueco Mundo itself would never allow it! Every single hollow in this dimension would instantly target you. Only a hollow ca-"

"Only a hollow can rule Los Noches." Ichigo cut her off. "Yea, I know, but take a good look at me Rukia, and remember why we are here. I am a hollow, at least as much as any arrancar can claim to be anyways." He finished. Rukia sat for a few minutes and took in his new features in for what seemed to be the first time. "Okay, you definitely look more hollow like, but you still lack the mask." She said, causing a question to pop into her mind. "Have you even tried using your mask since you changed?"

Ichigo was honestly surprised at hearing this. Ever since he had been brought back from his recent death, he had felt the effects of his mask, which had caused him to never bother even trying to form it. "Now that you mention it, no I haven't. Should I try it now?" he asked, feeling kind of stupid for not thinking of it himself. "No, I guess you should wait if you plan on attacking the Espada. We don't want them to know we are here, so try to lower your power a but before we go." Rukia said as they began moving in the direction of Los Noches.

Los Noches throne room

"What should we do about that?" Lilynette asked Stark as they turned off the monitor that had let them spy on the two rogue shinigami. "As long as they don't cause me any trouble, I have no problem with him running things. He seems like he has enough hollow in him for Los Noches to accept him as ruler." Stark said from his seat at the almost empty table in the throne room. "What do you think Halibel?" Lily asked the Espada, who had stayed quiet since they had returned to Los Noches. "I will speak with him myself." She said, before she stood and disappeared via sonido. "This should be interesting." Stark said as he got up to follow her.

Gates of Los Noches

Ichigo and Rukia arrived at the gates of Los Noches, with him fully ready to begin busting his way into the stronghold, when they found three figures at the front gate waiting on them. "I was told you moved faster than that Ichigo." Stark said, stifling a yawn. "Sorry if I made you wait, I couldn't leave her behind, so I slowed down." Ichigo said as he pointed behind him to Rukia, who was panting from the effort it had tool to keep up with Ichigo's new speed. "It's not . . . my . . . fault . . . you move . . so . . damn fast." She managed to say. "EXACTLY!" Lily yelled, kicking Stark in the jewels. "Just because you CAN move that fast, doesn't mean you SHOULD! Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep up with you?" she roared, getting no reply from Stark, who now lay on the floor.

"I think I'll slow down from now on." Ichigo mumbled, with wide eyes at the small girls cheap shot. "Good idea you strawberry bastard!" Lily yelled as she began to stomp towards him, only to be stopped as Halibel stepped in front of her. "What are your plans Kurosaki?" Halibel asked, causing Ichigo to look a bit more serious. "Well, my first plan was to find someplace for us to stay, then I plan on figuring out what happened to Aizen." Ichigo said even though he still watched Stark, who was still lying on the floor quietly. "What are your plans when you find Aizen? Do you plan to kill him?" She asked. "Of course I plan to kill him. I am what I am now because I made a vow to kill him, in whatever way I can manage. Even if it means I go against any who have ever helped me before, I WILL kill Aizen the next time we meet.

"Good. Both of you come with me." Halibel said before turning and opening the giant white gates of Los Noches. Stark immediately got up and walked in, with Lily close behind, mumbling "God damn slacker."

Back in the throne room

Ichigo walked into the throne room, a little surprised to find it look completely untouched by the battle he and Ulquiorra had had here. "Did you fix the place when you got back?" Ichigo asked. "No, thankfully, Los Noches has a mind of it's own. It cleans and repairs everything in the Palace every so often. If it didn't Los Noches would have been destroyed a long time ago." Stark said as he took a seat at the long table in the room. "You will learn enough about the palace as you spend more time here." Halibel said.

"Wait, hold on a second. Are you going to let me stay here without a fight? I thought you would be against me being here after all I did." Ichigo said, standing at the foot of the table, next to Rukia. "You said you would do anything it took to kill Aizen. We want him dead for his betrayal, for the murder pointless death of the espada, and for the shame he put us through by ruling as a shinigami." Halibel stated from her seat. "So we want you to lead the fight, and become the new king of Los Noches." She finished.

"So it was that easy?" Rukia said from her place next to Ichigo. "It will not be one simple step. The new king must reform the espada, and only then will he be given the title and power of king." Stark said with a yawn. " Ichigo just stared at the espada for a moment. "So what do I do first? Just go look for new espada?" He asked. "No, the first step is to take the throne, to see if you are even eligible to be king. The last two kings were kings by force, and had not received the blessing. Barragan had taken the throne even after he was denied it's blessing, so the castle never formed for him. Aizen took the throne, but as a shinigami, he could never be eligible to be the rightful king, but the castle still formed, because one who was eligible to be king chose to serve him." Stark said wisely, before promptly putting his head down.

"So who was supposed to be king?" Ichigo asked in confusion. "Ulquiorra." The three arrancar answered together. "How do you know it was him?" Rukia asked. "Because," Halibel began to answer, "Despite his attempt to hide it, some of us knew he possessed the Segunda Etapa, the true sign of being eligible of the throne. "But I don't have a segunda etapa, so I can't be king." Ichigo quickly said. "We know about your segunda etapa, even that you can't control it. That is the last step of the path of the king, so you are fine for now. First take the throne; you will know where to look for new espada after that. After you find the new espada, we will perform the numbering ceremony, and you will then have as much time as you need to master the segunda etapa.

"Ok, I guess we should start." Ichigo sighed, as he walked around the table and began the ascent to the throne. "Are you sure about this Ichigo?" Rukia asked, "Whatever chance you have of living a normal life later will disappear when you do this. A king cannot leave his dimension for too long before he must return, even the king of Soul Society must abide these rules." She said from her spot at the foot of the table. "If it gives me a better chance at getting to Aizen, I'll accept the consequences." Ichigo answered as he took his seat without hesitation.

No sooner had he sat down, the entirety of Los Noches began to tremble.

(Even though I forgot what I was doing half-way through, I enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you liked it too, and I also hope you like my new story when it comes out. I will try to have the new story, and new chapter (maybe two if I work a little) all out by Thursday, which is also my last day of high school. EVER. Ahhhh, how I wish I could redo it all. . . . seriously, I am not looking forward to being a productive member of society. Well, have fun, and see ya next week.)


	5. Fallen Moon

(Authors Note- Have to give a big thank you to Heir of Schiffer, who helped with the proof reading, and also to all of you who commented. On a side note, if you like Soul Eater, I will be adding 2-3 links on my profile that show some AMVs that blew me away with their greatness. Hope you enjoy the chapter.)

Chapter 5: A Fallen Moon

Los Noches throne room

Only seconds after Ichigo had taken the throne, Los Noches had begun to shudder with a dark presence that had forced everyone in the room to their knees.

"What's happening?" Rukia struggled to yell, trying to be heard over the growing noise of the palace's shaking.

"I'm not sure," Stark yelled in return. "I've never witnessed a king's blessing before, but I think Los Noches is measuring his reiatsu to see if it is suitable for a king."

"I'm surprised you can even talk shinigami." Halibel said with a little difficulty.

Rukia let out a short laugh. "I thought the same thing. I guess it's because I'm so used to his reiatsu now."

"Are you used to him doing that?" Lilynette yelled out, causing them all to look at Ichigo.

Since sitting in the throne, Ichigo had been staring into the distance with wide eyes, but now his head had lolled down as if he had fallen asleep. He sat in this manner for a few seconds before Zangetsu, still in Ichigo's hand, began emitting what looked to be a getsuga tenshou that began to enclose Ichigo in a sphere of solid black reiatsu.

"I've never seen him do that before, and I have never heard of a zanpakuto doing anything like that either." Rukia shouted with wide eyes as she watched Ichigo.

"Is it just me or is this pressure getting even stronger." Lilynette yelled out, as the palace now began to break apart in the presence of the tremendous reiatsu.

"It's definitely getting stronger." Stark said as he watched Los Noches crumble around him. "What's up with this kid ? I knew he was strong but this is getting a little out of hand."

The group watched for a few more moments before the dark reiatsu shell that had encompassed Ichigo began to shrink, forming to his shape, creating what looked to be a solid shadow of Ichigo as he began to stand.

When Ichigo pulled his Tensa Zangetsu down to his hip, as if to draw it from a sheath, the group's eyes widened as the trembling suddenly stopped and the air filled with an extremely violent reiatsu.

"RUN!" Stark yelled as he grabbed Lilynette and Rukia both around the waist and used sonido to make an escape, quickly followed by Halibel.

Sand Fields outside of Los Noches

While Stark rushed them away, Rukia and Lily stared back at Los Noches as the palace began to be torn from its base.

What was left of the once grand palace, now floated in the air, suspended by the tremendous power that had surrounded Ichigo after he sat on the throne. As the two girls watched, the rubble that floated in the air began to fall back to the ground, and relief began to fill Rukia.

"_It must be over."_ She thought to herself,

Then, without any warning, the entire area of Los Noches was covered in the dark reiatsu similar to what Ichigo had been covered with, while shock waves began rolling off of the shattered palace, nearly causing Stark and Halibel to lose their balance.

Only seconds after, Los Noches erupted into a giant pillar of black and red energy that illuminated the surrounding desert in an eerie light, before fading away a few seconds later.

After the blast subsided and the energy dissapeard, Stark set Rukia down, where she immediately fell to her knees and stared at the ruins with a look of complete terror. "Was that supposed to happen?" Lilynette asked, voicing the question all of them had asked themselves.

"I have no idea." Stark spoke quietly. "I was sure it was his power doing all of this until right before the explosion. The power that caused it was much darker than anything I've ever felt before."

"Was it that bad?" a dark voice echoed from behind, causing them to turn to face the unknown person only to see the fully hollow Ichigo standing behind them, looking at the ruins of Los Noches.

All of his clothes except for the robes covering his lower body had been reduced to tatters by the explosion.

"I-Ichigo?" Rukia whispered, as she stared at his new look.

Ichigo kept his eyes on the rubble of the former palace while she stared at his new appearance. "Last time I was like this, Ishida and Orihime looked terrified when they saw me." His voice echoed, while finally taking his eyes away from where Los Noches was.

"I don't want you to be scared of me. Ever. I'd never hurt you, so . . . . . will you still stay with me, even if I look like this?" Ichigo said, finally bringing himself to look into her eyes.

Rukia's face was now mixture of happiness and sadness from his words. She quickly jumped up and leaped at him, knocking to the ground to the ground as she clung to him in a hug.

"Idiot" she cried out, as tears began forming in her eyes.

"I worried you didn't I?" Ichigo asked in a soft voice

"I thought I had lost you for good this time." she whispered to him, the tears now running down her face.

Ichigo put his arms around her, as a dark glow surrounded him, and he began reverting to his previous form.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I've put you through so much lately, and with everything that has happened, I forgot to think about how you might feel." He said as he stood up and lifted her into his arms.

"I don't want you to die Ichigo, I . . I . . . you mean so much to me." She cried into his chest.

Ichigo stared at her with a caring look for a few moments before he looked over at the three arrancar. "We need to get back to the throne." He said as he began carrying Rukia towards the ruins of Los Noches.

"What throne? You just turned the whole damn palace to dust didn't you?" Lilynette yelled out as she stared at Rukia in Ichigo's arms with a look of slight envy.

"I don't know what happened after I sat on the throne, but I learned a few things about Los Noches. One nice piece of information is that is cannot be completely destroyed. It is directly tied to Hueco Mundo, and will disappear only when this dimension does." Ichigo spoke as he carried the now silent Rukia.

"So where is it if it wasn't destroyed?" Stark asked through a yawn, "And what do you mean it has a mind of it's own?"

"I was supposed to stay on what was left of the throne so it could use my reiatsu to rebuild Los Noches, but I left to find you as soon as I regained consciousness." Ichigo said as he walked.

"Los Noches always fixed itself without the need of anyone's reiatsu. Why does it need it now?" Lily asked in confusion.

"It is already rebuilding, but it will take too long to rebuild by itself, so I'm going to speed things up a little bit. Of course there will be some changes to the place now." Ichigo finished, watching Rukia as he walked.

"Changes?" Halibel asked slightly confused.

"I'll try to explain everything in a bit, but lets get back to Los Noches first so I can let Rukia rest. This is the second time within three days she has thought I died, and I don't think she is taking it too well." Ichigo quickly said as he went from a walk to very fast run.

Throne Room of Los Noches

Ichigo appeared next to a partially destroyed throne that could noticeable be seen reforming. He went to the throne and sat down, with the now sleeping Rukia laid across him with her head resting on his shoulder.

Moments after he had sat down, the air began to glow with a black energy that seemed to float around before solidifying into the floor and table that had been in the throne room before.

"It sure has gotten interesting since you showed up to this place." Stark said as the three arrancar looked around the regenerating throne room.

"I'll wait until you have a place to sit before I begin explaining." Ichigo spoke just loud enough for the others to hear.

A few minutes later, the group was all seated at a newly formed table and Ichigo began his explanation.

"Like I said earlier, Los Noches will be different this time, but I have no idea how different. While I sat on the throne, I was given information about Los Noches and some of its uses. It takes the form wanted most to the current residents. If you need a dungeon, within a day or two, you will find one. The same goes for any other kind of rooms you may need, along with food. " Ichigo told the others.

"I new about the food part, but I didn't realize Los Noches could add rooms just because we need them. It does make sense though, because we never found ourselves short on space when all the new arrancar began moving into the palace." Stark said

"I'll probably leave it like it was, since I like the general setup of the old Los Noches, but I'm going to infuse my reiatsu into it as it reforms." Ichigo said, as the room around them finished forming.

"What good will that do?" Lily asked the whole group

"It's actually a good idea." Stark spoke up. "If it works like I think it will, it should make it so that we don't destroy Los Noches with the pressure from our resurrection level reiatsu." He said, before looking at Ichigo and Rukia on the throne for moment.

"Of course I'm not too sure about Ichigo's resurrection. The reiatsu he was giving off during that explosion was almost three times that of mine." He added.

"True, his power is too much for this palace to handle, but that's not what concerns me." Halibel said as she looked at Rukia.

"I wish to know how long you will allow her to remain here. I did not bring up this subject until now because of your value to our cause, and now as one who is eligible to be king, you are even more valuable, but she is a shinigami, and I will not stand for a shinigami to be here." She said in a voice lined with hate.

"She will remain here as long as I do. If there is a problem, I will solve it. Rukia is an extremely important to me and threats to her are threats to me. Think about that before you make any plans against her." Ichigo spoke in a dark voice, while releasing his reiatsu in the area to add to his point.

Stark stared at Ichigo for a moment before adding into the conversation. "The Arrancar that did not join Aizen did so because they refused to follow a shinigami. While you have proven yourself to have extensive hollow abilities, she is a regular shinigami, and will be hated as such."

Ichigo stared at Stark for a few moments before he spoke again.

"Do you have an idea on how to help the situation?" he asked.

"Sadly, I don't but I think I know someone who might. He is a very old and very powerful arrancar that refused to help Aizen. He is supposed to be the wisest arrancar alive, so if you're lucky, he may be able to help." Stark told him.

Ichigo looked at Rukia, watching her as she slept in his arms.

"Any idea where he might be?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. He was the one who told Lilynette and I how to separate. I can tell you exactly where to find him." Stark said as he rested leaned back in his chair and began explaining exactly where to find the old arrancar.

"Ok," Ichigo said once Stark had finished. "I'll take Halibel with me and you can remain here." Ichigo said as he moved to stand.

"Why am I going?" Halibel asked.

"To watch Rukia in case things get complicated." Ichigo told her as he carried Rukia from the throne to the exit of the room. Halibel gave him a dark look before she began following him.

As they left, Halibel saw that while the dome and outer walls of Los Noches were still reforming, the main buildings had been completely restored.

In the Menos Forest

"This is the place." Ichigo spoke, as he came to the entrance of an old cave, Rukia still asleep his arms.

"He is supposed to be in the cave." Halibel added.

An old man who was suddenly next to Ichigo spoke up. "That's odd, I thought I was supposed to be out here." He said as he stared into the cave.

Ichigo stared at the arrancar for a moment to take in his looks. He was around 4 foot, was of a slim build, and had his long white hair into a long braid that was held together by his mask remains. He wore ragged robes, but was otherwise completely clean, with a small hollow hole in his lower neck and no sword in sight.

"I take it you're the man who told Stark how to separate?" Ichigo asked him.

"Stark? Oh, you mean that wolfish hollow that wanted some form of company a few years back? Yes, yes, it was me who told him how to split his body and mind into two. Why do you ask?" he said, now looking at Ichigo.

Ichigo told to him about how he had gained his new hollow powers, fled from Soul Society, had been accepted as king of Los Noches, and finally about his problem with Rukia.

"Do you think you can help old man?" he asked.

"First off, please use some form of respect when addressing your elder. I would love to give you my name but I forgot it a few thousand years ago, so for now, please call me Sofu." The arrancar told him.

"Can you help Sofu?" Ichigo asked once again.

The old arrancar stared at them him and the girl in his arms for a moment before speaking. "I can help though you must pass a little test of mine before I do so."

"What kind of purpose does this test have?" Ichigo asked.

"Now that is the question, isn't it? The test is for you to find your purpose for fighting against Aizen. Since it is someone like you, you will do best with this test while you are fighting." Sofu told him, smiling as he did.

"Okay, I accept, but where can I put her?" Ichigo asked, as he nodded at Rukia.

"Just put her inside of my cave over there." Sofu told him.

After Ichigo had set Rukia down, Ichigo looked at Halibel. "Please sit in the cave with her until I am finished." He asked.

"As you wish." Halibel replied in an emotionless voice before going to sit beside Rukia.

Sofu walked over to the entrance after the two girls were situated comfortably. "I am going to place a seal on the cave now. It is only to block our reiatsu, and can easily be broken from the inside, so you have nothing to fear." He said with a smile, as he waved a hand in front of the cave, causing a greenish barrier to appear.

He then looked at Ichigo, who was looking at Rukia through the barrier. "Are you ready?" Sofu asked.

"Yes, as long as your barrier does what it is supposed to." Ichigo said, turning to face the old man, who now held a katana with a long, forest green sheath and hilt, and the guard reminded Ichigo of a single leaf from a tree.

Sofu laughed at the boys comment. "It will be fine, you only need to worry about yourself. The old man chuckled as he held his sword pointed down and Ichigo held his bankai as if to draw it from a sheath.

"Grow, Gran Selva"

"Tensa Zangetsu, Luna Caida"

(Authors note- So, how was it? Favorite part of this chapter was coming up with Sofu, who was inspired by all the old men who turn out to be crazy masters of kick-your-face-in techniques. Next chapter should be out before Thursday, but we will see how that goes. See you all then.)

Luna Caida- Fallen Moon

Gran Selva- Great Forest


	6. Discovery

(Authors note- Hello again. I'm sorry for not posting this chapter sooner. I usually use my school internet, but seeing as how I'm out of school now,(I'm soooooo bored) I had to wait to post it. Thanks to everyone for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy.)

Soul Society, Captains Meeting

"You have all been called to this emergency captains meeting to discuss the matter of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia. They both disappeared from Soul Society yesterday evening and have yet to be located." Captain Yamamoto spoke, noting the varied looks covering the captains' faces.

"What do you mean disappeared? Why would they just leave without telling anyone where they went?" Captain Ukitake said, a look of confusion on his face.

"Rukia would never leave Soul Society before letting me know where she was going." Byakuya said, looking somewhat insulted.

"These questions are easily answered. After Kurosaki came back to Seireitei with the unconscious Kuchiki Rukia, I had a discussion on the topic of his revival and hollow-like voice and eyes. He told me that during his death at the hands of Aizen, he made a deal with the soul of his Zangetsu along with his inner hollow, a deal that would allow him to return as an entirely new being, born from the combined spirits of human, shinigami, and hollow. After hearing this, I offered him the opportunity to help us defeat Aizen before he was sentenced to his death as a hollow. His decision was obvious." Yamamoto spoke, now hearing the laughter of Captain Zaraki.

Zaraki wore a grin that was only ever seen before a truly bloody battle. "This is going to be one hell of a good fight if he is even stronger than he was in Los Noches."

Shunsui had a thoughtful look as he spoke next, "It is good that Kuchiki Rukia went with him though."

"What do you mean? How is that good at all?" Komamora asked.

It was Hitsugaya who answered. "You have never seen Ichigo fight to protect Captain Komamora. Even when he had only recently learned shikai, it took him only a few short days to reach bankai and topple the order of Soul Society, all to rescue Rukia. If she was here now, and he was to believe she was in danger in any way, I have little doubt he would destroy all of Seireitei to get to her. Also, while she is with him, Ichigo will be calmer and easier to deal with, so this outcome is actually very good."

After waiting a few moments, Unohana spoke. "It is true that Ichigo presents a great threat to Soul Society, but he posses an even greater threat to Aizen. I believe it is best to leave him and Rukia alone for the moment."

"As good of an idea as it may be, as the head of the Kuchiki family, I will not stand for Rukia to completely ignore the laws of Soul Society, even if it means angering some boy with a captain's level of power." Byakuya spoke darkly, clearly taking this all as another act of disrespect from Ichigo. "He has stepped on the pride of the shinigami, and of the Kuchiki family, for the last time.

"I agree Captain Commander." Soifon quickly added.

"I must have his body to research." Kurotsuchi said through a huge grin, making no attempt to hide his happiness at the thought of dissecting the new Ichigo's body.

"I shall leave it up to the captains to decide on what is best to do. I want a report of what you will do within the week, and I expect you all to work together on whatever the outcome may be." Yamammoto spoke as he slammed his cane down, calling the meeting to an end.

As the captains filed out of the room, Soifon stayed behind, waiting until all the other captains had left before she spoke.

"I want to ask your permission to execute Kuchiki Rukia." She spoke, quickly and quietly.

"After hearing the other captains' views on the matter, you think this is best?" the head captain asked.

"To capture her would mean certain war, but I believe if I can kill her without leaving a trail leading back to Soul Society, we may be able to completely demoralize Kurosaki, maybe to the point where killing or capturing him would be a simple matter." Soifon quickly spoke.

"It may work, but I will think on it before I can give you an answer." Yamamoto spoke, as he rose from his chair and began to walk to a door at the side of the room.

"Yes Captain Commander." Soifon spoke, bowing before she left the room.

Urahara's Shop

"Calm down Orihime!" Ishida yelled to the girl, who had been either asleep or worrying about Ichigo since she had awoken from her sleep.

"He needs me! I can feel it, he's hurt and he needs me. I have to get to him. Where is Urahara? I need to get to Hueco Mundo." Orihime said in a high pitched voice as she ran through the rooms in Urahara's shop.

"I'm right here Orihime." Kisuke said as he appeared in the room.

"Ichigo needs me! I need you to send me to Hueco Mundo immediately." She said as she quickly closed the distance between them, so that she was standing only inches away from him.

Kisuke stared at her eyes for a minute, watching as the shadows in the room seemed to play tricks on her eyes. "How did you know he was in Hueco Mundo?" He asked.

"I . . . I can just feel it. I can tell he is hurt and I should be there to heal him, so please, PLEASE send me to him." She pleaded

As he stared into her eyes now, he saw the dark shadows go across her eyes again, but they didn't seem to be anywhere but her eyes. _"It couldn't be?"_ he thought.

"Are you feeling well Orihime?" Kisuke asked as he leaned closer so he could get a better look at her eyes.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, turning red from how close Kisuke now was to her face, "but Ichigo is in trouble and needs my help, so please send me to Hueco Mundo." she finished, as she began backing away.

He leaned back as she backed away, still staring into her eyes with a serious look. Almost instantly, the look was replaced by a silly grin and he pulled out his fan to cool himself. "Ok, I'll send you to Hueco Mundo, but only if Chad and Ishida go with you, just in case."

A smile broke out across Orihime's face at hearing this, "I'll go call Chad and have him come here." she said as she ran past Ishida, who had been standing in the corner quietly the whole time.

"Did you see it too?" he asked Kisuke after she left the room.

"I did. How long has it been happening?" Kisuke asked.

"She woke up a few hours ago and began mumbling about how she had to get to Ichigo, but only just a while ago did she say anything about him being injured. The shadows only seem to appear when she is exceptionally worried, scared, or anxious. They have been appearing since she woke up after Ichigo left." Ishida told him.

"Did anything happen to her before she fell unconscious?" Kisuke asked quietly

Ishida seemed to think about it for a few moments before he finally spoke. "Just before Ichigo got back up, a thick black smoke filled the area surrounding him, and I saw Rukia and Orihime inhale a large amount of it before it cleared."

"It sounds like the smoke Ichigo said Zangetsu and his hollow turned into, just before forcing its way into him. It could be related, but I still don't know the full effects of the gas, so I can't say much for now. I'll ask Orihime for a blood and reiatsu sample, and if you find Ichigo and Rukia, I'll need some from them as well." Kisuke spoke as he began walking to the hidden ladder that led to his secret training grounds to set up a garganta.

Orihime ran back into the room just as Kisuke disappeared down the ladder. "Chad will be here soon, are you ready Ishida?" she asked him in a happy voice.

"Yes, I'm ready." he spoke as he watched her begin to climb down the ladder. _"What did you do to them Ichigo?"_ he thought as he began to make his way down the ladder.

Inside Sofu's Sealed Cave

Rukia was awoken by the sounds of rustling leaves and howls of rage. She didn't know where she was, or how she got here, and the last thing she did remember was being in Ichigo's arms as he carried her back to the remains of Los Noches.

"So you finally decided to wake up, shinigami?" she heard a somewhat familiar voice speak.

"Who?" she mumbled as she turned to see Halibel sitting beside her, staring out of the cave, through a thick green barrier. "Oh, Halibel. Where is Ichigo?" she mumbled again as she began to sit up. _"God, my head feels like it was used for a soccer ball." _she thought as she tried to cradle her sore head.

"Ichigo and Sofu, the old man who occupies this cave, are outside fighting. At first we were only shielded from the reiatsu, but it wasn't long before Sofu saw fit to reinforce the barrier to the point that it could not be seen through." She spoke as she still stared intently at the barrier, as if to burn a hole in it with her eyes.

"Why are they fighting? And how much did you see?" Rukia quickly asked as she tried to see around the dark cave.

"They are fighting so Ichigo can solve a . . . problem that has arisen, and what I did see of the fight still makes my skin crawl." Halibel said with a slight shudder. "Stark was right when he questioned the boys new powers. The amount of reiatsu Ichigo was exuding was enough to make breathing difficult, even through the barrier." she added as she still stared into the barrier.

"Why is he fighting this Sofu so intently? Is the problem that important?" Rukia asked, now slightly worried. Only a few hours ago, the world seemed right, she was warm, protected, and in the arms of the only man she truly cared for.

"At first, they seemed very even, then Ichigo's power seemed to fluctuate, but because of this damned barrier, I couldn't be for sure. Shortly after that happened, Ichigo began fighting differently. I completely lost track of his movements and Sofu began going completely on the defensive. Shortly after, Sofu placed the extra barrier on us while he used his resurrection's power to keep Ichigo at bay." Halibel said, ending with a sigh as she leaned back against a wall and closed her eyes.

"It's been nearly three hours already, and I can't tell how the battle is going." Halibel spoke in a slightly worried voice. "How am I supposed to know whether to help him or not?"

"You're actually worried about him aren't you? Do . . . . Do you like him?" Rukia asked in wonder, as an odd feeling began to fill her.

"How stupid are you, shinigami? A hollow would never have feeling for some shinigami, no matter what the case." She quickly spoke.

"If you say so." Rukia said, not completely convinced.

Halibel sat in her own darkness for a while before opening her eyes to see the shinigami sitting close to the barrier, and Halibel watched her for a while, noticing how the shadows flickered across her eyes.

"How long does it take to kill an old man?" Halibel said, now sounding somewhat irritated.

"He's coming now." Rukia mumbled.

"And how would you kno-" Halibel was cut off as the barrier around them disappeared to show Sofu and Ichigo, in his bankai form. Both of their clothes were tattered and torn, but they looked perfectly fine. After a second, Rukia noticed three familiar faces walking to the cave.

"Orihime? Chad? Ishida? How did you get here?" Rukia said, sounding very confused.

"The young lady and her two lovers just appeared here a few minutes ago, and she healed me and this young man," Sofu said as he pated Ichigo on the back.

"My what!" Orihime squeaked in response to the old mans words.

"You're as messed up as my dad, you know that?" Ichigo told the old man as he headed into the cave.

"Are you okay Rukia?" Ichigo said as he began to pick her up.

Rukia quickly stood up on her own, as to avoid earning the others attention from Ichigo carrying her. "I'm fine, just a little headache." She told him, which was only half true. Her head felt horrible now.

"Good, Halibel, take Orihime, Sofu, help Chad and Ishida, and I'll take Orihime." Ichigo said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I take it he is joining us?" Halibel spoke up.

"I haven't made any decision yet, but since my home is now in ruins, I have been offered a new place to stay." Sofu said as he walked over to stand between Chad and Ishida.

"What do you mean? The cave is fine, isn't it?" Rukia asked as she and Halibel walked outside of the cave to see the area.

Her mouth fell open in shock as she saw the wreckage of the surrounding area. There were enormous craters and massive holes that opened clear passages to the Menos Forrest. The area was also covered with twisted and broken trees, which seemed to be the same as the trees occupying the forest below them.

The largest change to the landscape was the canyon-like cuts that seemed to zigzag everywhere in sight.

"We shouldn't stay here too long; we don't to attract too much attention to us." Sofu said as he placed a hand on both Chad and Ishida and disappeared. He was followed by Halibel and Orihime, leaving Rukia and Ichigo standing alone in the aftermath of the fight.

"Sofu thinks he knows what is wrong. He wants to talk about it at Los Noches though. I'll explain what happened in our fight later to you after that." Ichigo spoke up after a minute.

"If we don't leave soon, we will be late." Rukia said as she walked over to Ichigo.

Ichigo showed a big grin as she neared, "Are you kidding me? I was giving them a head start." He said as he quickly picked her up in his arms and braced for a full speed start. "Hope your ready, I haven't tried going this fast yet." He said as his grin widened.

"I-Ichi-" She was cut off as he blasted off at full speed towards Los Noches, completely shattering the area he had been standing in.

(Authors note- Hope you don't hate me for leaving out the fight scene. It will most likely show up next chapter, so stay tuned. I had to laugh at some of the messages I got, since most of them involved questions I was going to answer this chapter, so I hope I helped those of you who sent one in. I'll be doing nothing but writing until I get a job, so the chapters will porbably come out quicker until then. see ya next time.)


	7. Arrival

(Authors Note- I'm really sorry about the wait. I've been either too busy or too brain dead to write anything good lately. Some people asked if i will be bringing back dead espada and the answer is yes, but only 1 of them. Thank you to all of those who review or send PMs. Here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.)

Chapter 7: Arrival

4 Hours ago - Los Noches

Lilynette walked through the halls, yelling for Stark. "Stark! Some guy just showed up. Stark. STARK!"

"What?" Stark asked as he walked around a corner, rubbing his eyes.

"Some guy just showed up. Said he's looking for the king." Lily told him before she turned around and walked back to the room she had left the man in,

"OK, I guess we should talk to him before Ichigo gets back." Stark mumbled as he followed his other half.

Stark entered a room similar to the one Ichigo's friend had occupied. The man stood before the window. He had mid-length shoulder black hair and wore tattered, dirty white clothes.

"Hello, I'm Stark, Primera of Los Noches. What do you want with the king?" he said as he took a seat on the nearby couch.

The man turned around, revealing a smooth white mask that completely covered his face, while his black hair still hung in front of the mask. "I wish to offer my services." the man spoke in a light voice as turned to face Stark directly.

"What's your name weirdo?" Lily asked as she threw herself down next to Stark, causing him to sigh.

"Don't talk to your guest like that." He scolded her.

"It's fine, I am the intruder here. My name is Shaolong Ryu. I decided to come here after I felt that terrific reiatsu." The man said, keeping his voice even.

"Well, the king left around two hours ago, and I have no idea when he'll be back. As long as you don't start anything, you can wait for him here." Stark said before he pushed Lilynette onto the floor, stood up, and left the room.

"STARK!" Lily roared as she ran out of the room after him seconds later.

"They sure are interesting hollows." Ryu said as he took seat on the couch to wait for the new king of Los Noches to arrive. "I think I'll enjoy it here." he mumbled before leaning back to rest.

Current Time – Los Noches

The entire group had finally arrived, and were meeting in the throne room, when Stark remembered the visitor.

"Sorry for forgetting to tell you," Stark spoke up from his usual place at the table, "but you have a guest Ichigo."

"Ichigo, who had been talking to Sofu from the head of the table, looked up in confusion. "Who in the world would want to talk to me?" he asked.

"You are technically the king of Los Noches. The only rite you haven't passed is the one required by Los Noches itself to earn the title king. Does it amaze you that much that someone wants to meet with you?" Sofu asked inquisitively, causing Ichigo's mouth to gap.

"Ichigo never has put much thought into the big picture." Rukia scolded from her place between Sofu and Ichigo, earning a evil glare from Ichigo

"Watch it midget." He said darkly.

"What dandelion!" she roared back, quickly rising from her seat.

Ichigo stood immediately, towering over her. "You heard me shoriiiooOOUCH!" he yelled as she interupted him with a kick to the shins.

"I don't care if you are the king! Make fun of my height again and I'll kick your royal **!" she said in triumph as she watched him nurse his wound.

Sofu looked to the other side of him, where Chad sat. "Do they do this a lot?" he asked the large human.

Chad looked at the old Arrancar before giving him an answer. "Ichigo always argues like that, but I'm not sure about Rukia." Chad said evenly, before going back to his thoughts.

"I'm going to get the guest." Halibel said as she got up and left the room. She just wanted away from all the noise.

When she came to the room, the man was standing in front of the window, staring at the moon. "Follow me." Halibel said evenly, causing the man to turn around, revealing his covered face.

"Well, aren't you a pretty one." he said as he headed to follow her, causing her to stop and stare for a moment before continuing.

When they got back to the throne room, everyone was listening to the story of the fight between Ichigo and Sofu. It was Ichigo who spoke when they entered.

Flashback

Ichigo looked around through the smoke and rubble, looking for the old Arrancar who had been striking without warning.

Seconds later a tree, similar to the many that filled Los Noches, shot out of the ground towards him, which he destroyed with a quick slash of his sword. "Don't drop your guard just yet." a voice echoed out from behind him.

Ichigo immediately jumped away, barely avoiding a devastating hit. When Ichigo looked back to the crater it had made, he saw no one. It had been like this for a while now; the old man would attack from a distance before quickly jumping in, only to vanish completely barely a second afterward.

"How long are you gonna run around like some kind of ninja?" Ichigo roared, his hollow voice amplifying the volume.

"As long as it will work, of course." the old man spoke calmly, gaining another hollowish roar from Ichigo.

He quickly pointed his face downwards, and focused reiatsu into the horns that sprouted from his mask, causing an orb of red light to appear and rapidly grow in size.

Immediately, the small, spear-like trees shot out form all around him, some piercing his arms, legs, or torso, while other just broke apart as they hit his hierro hardened skin. "Your hierro is too weak. With the amount of reiatsu you unconsciously leak, you could form an exceptionally powerful hierro." Sofu scolded.

Ichigo roared once again before releasing the cero he had been charging, causing a massive explosion and creating a hole straight into the Menos forest underneath them. He tried to focus like Sofu had told him, forcing his skin to harden with the help of his reiatsu, before he launched off in the direction of Sofu's energy.

As he exited the massive cloud of sand he had created, he saw Sofu standing a few dozen yards away, releasing a faint green glow. It was Ichigo's first good look at his Resurrección form.

His mask segment that held his hair together now extended to his to cover his face, while also covering his hair, giving it a spine-like look. His ragged robes had been replaced by Grey robes that looked like they were made out of light gray leaves. His hands and now bare feet were the most changed, looking as if they were made out of the same material of the trees of Hueco Mundo.

Ichigo rushed in as the dark green reiatsu surrounding Sofu began seeping into the ground. Ichigo was only feet away when a massive wave of reiatsu stopped him, and Sofu's voice filled the air "Mil Arboles!"

Ichigo felt the ground rumble before hundreds of spear-like trees shot out of the ground, as they attempted to impale him. For a moment he attempted to dodge, until the trees shot grew above him before arching back down to surround him. Ichigo had no place to escape and was hit from all sides as a large cloud of sand was knocked up from the attacks force.

The smoke cleared to reveal a massive clump of trees that were bent, broken, and focused together to one point. "You still alive in there?" Sofu yelled, not sensing Ichigo's reiatsu. He looked at the clump of trees for a moment before turning his back. "If only he would have hardened his hierro properly." Sofu mumbled as he began walking back to his cave.

End of Flashback

"And you found us shortly after." Sofu said softly, remembering what had happened next

"Hold on," Ishida spoke up. "We didn't find you like that, and what about the ridiculous reiatsu we felt? It was monstrous!" he said.

"Ah, well, that stays between me and Ichigo for now." Sofu said politely.

"But I-" "My my, looks like our guest is here." Sofu said, interrupting Ishida. Everyone at the table looked over at the new arrival who stood at the table opposite of Ichigo.

"Hello," Ryu said as he bowed his head and placed his fist in his opposite hand in front of him ," my name is Shaolong Ryu and I wish to offer my services to you, Kurosaki Ichigo, King of Los Noches." He finished, staying in his bowed state.

"Stop doing that, you're makin' me feel weird." Ichigo said to him, "and take a damn seat already." he yelled, causing Ryu to stand, nod, and quickly take a seat.

"I take this as a yes." he said to Ichigo, who nodded.

"Feel free to do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't cause the others too much trouble." Ichigo mumbled as he stood and began walking out of the room.

"Do you have a lab?" Ryu asked.

"I believe Szayel's old lab is still there, you should find everything you need inside." Stark spoke as he got up to follow Ichigo out. Everyone else in the room got up to leave as well, leaving Ryu and Halibel in the room together.

"Would you be so kind as to show me the way, miss?" Ryu asked.

"It's Halibel," She answered coldly before walking out into the hall, "I'll show you if you keep up." she said before disappearing. Ryu laughed, it had been ages since he had been intrigued about something unscientific, but he enjoyed this. He quickly followed her.

Ichigo's Room

Ichigo had to admit that he didn't mind being king if this was his room. It was in the depths of Los Noches, but was kept well lit by multiple sources of light, which he had noticed changed color to his will. Currently his exceptionally large room was lit by dark blue flames that created an effect he really liked.

At first he had wandered the halls looking for a suitable room, when he saw the completely white door near the lower levels of the building. It had no handle, or lock, or any sign of a way to open it, but as Ichigo placed his hand on the door, it had disappeared to reveal stairs leading to this room. His favorite thing was that the room had a door that seemed to take him anywhere he wanted in Los Noches.

He had used it to appear in the kitchen to get some food, then to visit Chad and Ishida for a quick talk before returning back to his room. He sat there for a while, playing with lights, changing the colors before he heard a knock on the door he liked so much.

"Ichigo looked at the door for a moment before walking over to open it. When he opened he was staring at Sofu, Rukia, and Orihime.

The two girls had a look of confusion on their face as Ichigo waved them all in. As Ichigo quickly looked around, he saw no chairs or seats, so he tried the first thing that came to his minds, and mentally asked for a small table. He was stunned when a light blue glow filled the room, receding to reveal what he had asked for.

"Wow, my room doesn't do that." Rukia muttered.

"Comes with being king I guess." Ichigo answered.

"Can we get some food?" Orihime asked, almost immediately answered by another faint glow that faded to reveal noodles with strange looking chocolate that Ichigo knew couldn't taste good with the ramen. "Oh, um, thank you . . . room?" she said before she began eating.

"I have brought the princesses to receive your dark kiss, oh demon king." Sofu said, in complete seriousness.

"WHAT!" Rukia shouted as she instantly jumped back from the table. Orihime looked as if she had choked on the noodles.

"Why the hell do you have to do that?" Ichigo said angrily.

"I'm an old man, I need my entertainment." Sofu said simply.

"What does he mean kiss?" Rukia asked hesitantly.

"It's not really a kiss. It's an idea Sofu had to help with the problem I caused." Ichigo muttered

"What problem?" both girls said together.

"You mean to say you both haven't noticed? No increase in stress, irritation, or any other emotion. No abnormal feeling that draw you to Ichigo for odd reasons?" Sofu asked.

"Um, well, I knew that Ichigo was hurt while you two fought, even though I was in the human world. Other than that I've just been sleeping a lot." Orihime said quietly.

"I've been sleepy as well, but I can't remember feeling drawn to him in any odd ways." Rukia said.

"After I told him everything that happened since my fight with Aizen, Sofu seemed to think I may have transferred some of my powers into you both, possibly connecting us in odd ways." Ichigo said seriously.

"How could that happen? Nothing happened to us . . . besides . . . the black smoke." Rukia finished barely audible.

"I'm happy that I may have a stronger connection with you Kurosaki, but I'm not too sure about having a hollow. It just feels wrong to me." Orihime mumbled.

"That is why we are here." Sofu spoke. "I have never run into this problem, but I think I can help. You must both decide whether to take hold of these new powers that could form, or to throw them away."

"I'll keep my powers if it means I can be of more use." Rukia answered immediately.

"I . . I'm not sure what I should do." Orihime muttered."May I have more time to think about it?" She asked in a steadier voice.

Sofu looked at her with an understanding expression. "You may take as long as you wish, but I will warn you, the longer you wait, the harder the choice will be." He said wisely.

"How long do you think I have?" Orihime asked.

"Two weeks at the minimum." Sofu told her.

"Really? That much time for a minimum?" Rukia asked.

"Yea, Sofu wanted to tell you immediately, but I wanted to wait. Urahara has asked me to return to see him in two weeks, so we will go then so he can help with whatever is decided." Ichigo said as he leaned back.

"What about the . . . . . the . . . . the kiss?" Orihime almost squeaked, turning bright red.

"Oh, that. Well, I'd rather not talk about it since it's not decided yet, so please don't think about it too much." Ichigo told her, causing Rukia and him to turn pretty red themselves.

Sofu stood to bow, before turning to leave. "I'm going back to my room. Try not to make too much noise once you three get started. I'd rather not listen to moans and groans tonight." he said as he walked out of the room leaving the other three open mouthed and bright red.

"I-I-I-I should go." Orihime said as she quickly go up and shot out of the room. Ichigo turned to look at Rukia, who looked at him wide eyed for a few minutes before using shunpo to escape out of the open door.

"Ichigo got up and walked over to the door and slammed it shut before he walked over to a corner and asked for a soft bed. Seconds later he was lying down, trying to clear his head of the images that had filled it only moments ago. "Damn that old bastard." he mumbled before he let the lights go out.

(Authors Note- I hope you liked the first glimpse of Ryu. To clear some things up for those who may be confused, heres some helpful info:

Ryu's hollow mask completely covers his face along with his eyes and mouth. For an idea of his hair style, look for pictures of Asura the Kishin off of Soul Eater, since he inspired me.

Ichigo's 'Luna Caida' release looks exactly the same as his fully released hollow form he used against Ulquiorra.

also, I had to laugh at what Aizen turned into recently in the Bleach manga. He now has the hollow eyes, and most likely voice also, just like what I wanted Ichigo to be like (besides all the white clothes.)

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. plz send any questions and i'l answer them. See you soon :)


	8. Guests

(Authors Note- Hello again. I got really bored after posting chapter 7 so i immediately started on Chapter 8. I kinda think it's a little sloppy for my usual work, but it fits with what I wanted, so I hope you enjoy it.)

Ichigo's Room

Ichigo laid in bed, mostly asleep, hours after his talk with Sofu, Rukia, and Orihime. Even in his dazed state, he was still somewhat troubled with Sofu's words.

He rolled over in bed and reached out to move a pillow out of his face. When he grabbed it, two things surprised him. One was how soft and round it was, but the more disturbing was the low moan it released. "Itsygoooo."

After a few seconds what he had heard fully hit Ichigo, causing him to open his eyes to a face full of half-revealed breasts and strands of long green hair.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHH!"

Moments Ago in the Main Dining Room of Los Noches.

Rukia and Orihime had been the first to come down to eat, but had been unable to make eye contact or form any kind of speech.

Rukia sat in a far corner of the medium room. It was mostly filled with small round tables or strange looking devices that she had learned created the food she most desired.

Rukia had been beet red since she had received her food. She made sure to not let Orihime see what the device had given her as she sat down and stared at her bowl. It had taken only a second to realize why she had gotten her meal, when she had been sure what she wanted most was a bowl of her favorite cereal, Chappy Flakes.

She grumbled as she began eating the almost taunting meal. If Ichigo saw this, she would murder him. She made sure to eat the food as quickly as possible. When she was almost done when Stark entered the room and both Orihime and herself quickly got up to put the dishes away, forgetting all about the leftover food inside.

Right after they had left Stark peered over at their bowls, and smiled when he saw two bowls of half-eaten strawberries. He reached his hand into the machine and pulled out a cup of tea. As he sat down, the castle rumbled slightly as the new king's yell filled the halls.

"Maybe I should have warned Ichigo about the guests?" Stark asked himself as he leaned back near one of the tables.

"No, it'll be fine." he thought as he sipped his tea

Ichigo's Room

Rukia and Orihime had ran as fast as they could to Ichigo's room after they heard the yell, and reached the door just in time to see Ichigo launch himself across the room before turning his bright red face to his bed where an adult Nel rested, revealing much more than she should.

"What is going on?" Rukia asked in a very confused voice, looking at Ichigo as he caught his breath.

"Hell if I know," he grumbled, "I just woke up and she was in my face."

"She was in your face?" Orihime asked innocently, trying to understand the situation.

"Yea, her . . . . um . . . . chest . . . was in my face."Ichigo grumbled again, realizing how this might have looked.

Rukia, now a little more than irritated, walked over to the bed, where she shook Nel awake. The girl stirred from her sleep and sat up, yawning widely. She sat for a second before she seemingly exploded, filling the room with a thick pink smoke, causing the others to begin coughing.

As the smoke cleared, Ichgio saw that the Nel now sitting on his bed was the child version, still wearing a dazed look. "Itsygo, where'd ya go?" Nel mumbled as she tried to wipe the tiredness from her eyes.

"When the hell did you get here?" Ichigo almost yelled as he walked towards the bed, still somewhat in shock.

"Oh, you're finally up?" said a voice from behind everyone.

Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime all opened their mouths in shock as Yoruichi walked out of Ichigo's mysterious other door. Ichigo went bright red as he saw she was wet, naked, and drying her hair with a towel, giving it a messy look.

"Still as innocent as ever I see." Yoruichi laughed as she walked over to a wall and a closet door appeared, with a fresh change of Yoruichi's usual clothes inside.

"Hurry up and get dressed damn it!" Ichigo growled as he quickly looked the other way.

A couple minutes later, the goddess of flash, a nickname Ichigo thought suited her perfectly, sat on his bed next to Nel, who had been sitting with large grin the whole time.

"When did you get here?" Ichigo asked, now calming down a bit.

"I came to Hueco Mundo about four hours ago, where I met Nel here soon after. She was wandering around by herself calling for you, so I brought her here with me. We've been here at Los Noches for about an hour or so." Yoruichi said as she stretched out across the bed.

"Why were you by yourself Nel? Where are Pesche and Dondochakka?" Rukia asked.

"I don' know! Tha's why I was lookin for Itsygo." Nel said as some tears began forming at the thought of her missing friends.

"I'll help you find them Nel" Ichigo said as he quickly went over to her and picked her up, wiping her tears away.

"Why was Nel grown up when we got here?" Orihime asked.

"I don't know," Yoruichi answered, "She just changed after she fell asleep."

"You know, I've had an idea since we first heard Nel's story. Orihime, do you think you could reverse Nel wounds and change her back to normal?" Ichigo asked.

"I could try." Orihime said brightly.

"Nel, stay here with Orihime while I go and look for your brothers." Ichigo told her as he set her back down on the bed.

"Okay, but only for Itsygo." Nel said as she jumped off the bed and walked over to hold Orihime's hand. "Let's go Hime, Nel's hungry." The girl said as she dragged Orihime out of the room and towards the smell of food.

"I'm taggin along Ichigo."Yoruichi said as she stood and walked over to the door, opening it to reveal the outside of Los Noches.

"Ok, but I want you to stay here Rukia." Ichgio said as he grabbed Zangetsu from beside his bed and walked out the door.

"Fine." Rukia huffed, not in the mood to argue with him.

Deserts of Hueco Mundo

Ichigo, in his Bankai form, ran shortly behind Yoruichi as they sped across the deserts while Ichigo did his best to feel out the somewhat familiar reiatsu of Nel's two guardians.

"Why did you come to Hueco Mundo?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh, about that, I came to tell you Soul Society is beginning to move." Yoruichi answered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked with some confusion.

"The Captain Commander left it up to the Captains to decide your fate. Most are against you, for various reasons, but some still see you as an ally." she finished as she slowed to a walk, now that Los Noches was far out of sight.

"Hmm, let's see. The ones who would want to fight me . . . Kenpachi will want to fight me for sure. Byakuya will be out for blood since Rukia came with me. Mayuri is probably with them too, along with Soi Fon, Komamura, Yamamoto… and probably Toshiro, since he always follows orders. I'm sure Ukitake, Shunsui, and maybe Unohana will see enough reason not to fight for idiotic reasons." Ichigo thought aloud.

"Well, you definitely have a good idea of what you're up against. Soi Fon will be the first to move, but I'm not sure when. I'm looking forward to seeing how you handle Byakuya and Kenpachi." She said with a smile, causing Ichigo's face to drop.

"If I have to fight both of them, it would probably take every ounce of power I have just to survive." Ichigo groaned, causing Yoruichi to laugh.

After a few seconds she stopped suddenly as she remembered something. "I almost forgot, we will be starting your training soon Ichigo," she said somewhat seriously.

"What do you mean? I thought I was done?" Ichigo said with a hint of dread.

"Oh no, you have just begun mastering your Zanjutsu and Hoho skills. This training will go into the high level techniques for those two while we also try to expand your skills in Hakuda and Kido." She said with a somewhat evil grin.

"Who's teaching what?" he asked wearily.

"I'll be helping you master Hoho and Hakuda, Tessai has offered to teach you the Kido basics, and Kisuke will be helping you finish up your Zanjutsu." She said with a smile.

"Oh great, I can't wai . .Did you feel that?" Ichigo asked as he felt a slightly familiar reiatsu flare up in the distance.

"Yea, but I'm surprised you did, you usually suck at these kinda things." she said, now faking tears of joy. "I guess our little Itsygo is almost ready to be a man." she said sarcastically, causing Ichigo to stop in his tracks.

He turned to face her, giving her his best evil stare. "Say that again and I'll give you to the pound, ya damned stray."

Yoruichi burst out laughing as she used shunpo to jump far away from him. "You'd have to catch me first, which you could never do, so come on. Let's go see who's all excited." she finished as she disappeared in the direction of the reiatsu.

Moments Ago, A Few Miles Away

In a field covered in rubble and broken trees, a skinny figure crawled across the ground, trying to reach his close friend. "Don-Dondochakka" he said roughly. He was wounded and was having trouble moving.

"Pesche, g-get away while you can." A large figure spoke from under some rubble nearby.

"No, we have to get back to Nel-Sama, together." Pesche said as he reached the rubble.

"Run Pesche, get away while yo-" Dondochakka was cut off as a bala hit him and the rubble he laid in.

"You come into my territory and expect to leave alive? Now now, I can't have that." an Arrancar spoke as he appeared a few feet away. His mask sat upon the top of his head, looking like the upper jaw of a snake, with its largest fangs reaching down to just above his eye-brows, while the rest of his body was bare besides the tattered robes that covered his waste down.

"We just wish to find our master."Dondochakka choked out.

"And who would that be?" The man hissed, a sinister smile spreading across his face while his acid-green eyes now glowed in the moonlight. His body was lean and muscular and his build gave him the look of a slim, yet strong man..

"Our master is the honorable Neliel Tu Oderschvank, former Tercera Espada of Los Noches." Pesche said proudly.

"Neliel huh? Yeah, I think I heard of her once, but I also heard she's only a snot nosed brat these days." The arrancar spat.

Pesche was now noticeably angry. "Don't you dar-"

"Ya think ya can mock the Espada?" a mocking snarl rang out.

"Yea, I do," the man said as he turned to face the new opponent. "and what does a piece of trash like yourself think you can do about it?" he said as he looked upon the short, wild blue hair of the man before him.

"I'll tear ya ta shreds, ya piece of trash." Grimmjow said as he entered the moonlight fully. His clothes were torn and battered, and filled with large cuts and holes.

"You? Calling me a piece of trash? You think you can beat me, a vasto lord?" The man chuckled.

"I have to if I'm gonna catch up to that piece of shit Shinigami. I need to be the strongest, no questions about it." Grimmjow snarled as he braced himself to attack. "I still can't use resureccion yet. I need to end this fast." he thought to himself. "Don't die too soon." Grimmjow roared as he launched himself at the Arrancar.

The man laughed as he easily deflected Grimmjow's flurry of attacks, before delivering a powerful hit to his chest, which sent Grimmjow flying into a nearby sand dune.

"I don't even need a sword to kill a piece of trash like you." the man laughed, looking at Grimmjow, who was still on the ground, having trouble breathing. "I'll just finish this so I can go back to sleep." The Arrancar mumbled before raising his index finger and charging a dark green cero.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." A female voice rang out, causing the Arrancar to look over to see Yoruichi sitting on a pile of rubble behind him.

The Arrancar only grinned as he lifted his other index finger to point another cero at her, his hands now stretching out in both directions. "Why not? Should I be scared of a pathetic Shinigami like you?" he asked with a laugh.

Yoruichi looked at him with some confusion. "You haven't even noticed him yet?" she asked.

"What?" the hollow asked as he looked around and saw the three injured Arrancar were now gone, only to be replaced by a orange haired Shinigami. "Who the hell are you?" he hissed.

"Ichigo stared at him for a second before he looked over at Yoruichi. "So I have to beat this guy bare-handed?" he asked. She nodded. "Can I use my other powers?"

She nodded again. "You can use anything besides your offensive abilities. You need to learn to fight without a weapon and this is a perfect chance."

"Good." he mumbled as he lifted his Tensa Zangetsu to his side and began charging reiatsu.

Over from his new position near Yoruichi, Grimmjow began laughing madly. "You fighting with only your hands?" He let out another roar of laughter before he stopped to clutch his chest. "Your pathetic without your swor-"

Tensa Zangetsu, Luna Caida." Ichigo spoke softly, but loud enough to stop Grimmjow's sentence.

A large cloud of black reiatsu now encircled Ichigo, before breaking apart to reveal his horned, hollowish form. He raised his sword high into the air before turning it upside down and slamming it into the ground.

"Now we fight, hand to hand." He spoke in his twisted hollow voice.

"What the?" Grimmjow let out with a stunned, wide eyed expression before Ichigo launched at the enemy full speed. Grimmjow was furious. He'd been passed up completely.

"KUROSAKI!"

(Authors Note- If I severly messed up on someones personality, please let me know so i can fix it. Did you like the chapter though? I doubt i'll have chapter 9 out as fast, but please stay tuned for Ichigo's first full fight in his resureccion. Thanks for your reviews and support.)


	9. Headaches

(Authors Note- Hello again! Finished this one last night and read over it a few times. I was feeling a little too impatient to wait for my buddy to look over it so I did my best and decided to post it anyway. (sorry, if I offended you at all Schiffer) Hope you liked what happens.)

Deserts of Hueco Mundo

Yoruichi had to admit it, Ichigo was a natural at learning hakudo. He used his speed very effectively, closing in on his opponent almost instantly before delivering a devastating punch dead center in his opponent's chest. This resulted in the arrancar flying through the air, directly into a sand dune about thirty yards away.

"Good hit, but don't get cocky just yet." She yelled as she saw Ichigo roll his head and shoulders, letting his guard down some.

He looked at her, his expression unreadable under his mask, before he instantly raised his left hand behind his head, followed by an echoing crack. The arrancar had appeared behind him in an attempt to knock him cold with a powerful kick, only to be blocked.

Ichigo quickly went on the offensive as he used his blocking hand to grab the arrancar's foot. He instantly used it to slam his foe into the ground before him, leaving a shallow crater.

The arrancar wasted no time in jumping back on his feet before using sonido to appear 30-40 yards away. He drew a short zanpakuto from his robes, which he instantly raised, as if to bite. "Strike Silently, Deadly Fangs!" He roared as he was surrounded by an sickly green reiatsu.

"Don't forget Ichigo, hand-to-hand only." Yoruichi reminded as she watched from her seat upon Grimmjow's back, who had attempted to charge Ichigo before being put under several high level kido, leaving all but his eyes completely immobile. His look of hatred was easily readable in those alone.

As Ichigo prepared himself to attack the resureccion form of the arrancar, Yoruichi began watching Grimmjow. "You really hate him don't you? She asked from her seat on his back, watching as he lay face-first in the sand, still watching Ichigo's every move.

His body had begun to shake and deep growls could be heard from within him, as he attempted to break free. "What if I make you a deal?" she asked him, causing his resistance to lessen as he began listening to her. "Ichigo needs allies, and you're very capable already, so if you swear your allegiance to him, I'll train you to fight on par with the current Ichigo." she whispered to him, releasing some of the seals so he could answer.

"One fight." he growled, causing a look of confusion to cross her face.

"What do you mean 'One fight'?" she asked.

"I want one fight with him after this training. I want to kick his ass. You let me do that, even if it isn't to the death, and I'll do anything you want lady." he said, overwhelming desire filling his voice.

A large smile spread across Yoruichi's face. "It's a deal. I'll train you till you can beat Ichigo, but if you try to kill him, even once, your life will end faster than you could ever imagine." she told him, in a dark, silky voice. Grimmjow simply nodded as a wide grin spread across his face.

When Yoruichi looked back up, Ichigo was covered in some small cuts, though otherwise unhurt.

"I take my eyes off of you for a few seconds and you get cut up? What kind of man are you?" she scolded, receiving a roar from Ichigo in response. He was beginning to act more hollow-like, moving more on instinct now, and attacking more wildly.

The other arrancar was no where in sight as Ichigo looked around, still fighting bare-handed. He looked among the sand-dunes and rubble, trying to find the arrancar, who had shown the ability to move quickly underground. A few moments later, the sand behind Ichigo began to bulge, quickly giving way as a large, snake like arrancar shot out of the ground.

The lower half resembled a snake, with dark green scales, while the upper-half still looked somewhat like the arrancar's human body. It was now mostly covered in the same dark-green scales as the tail, but the hands of the arrancar now held two sharp, fang-like daggers that dripped with a light green liquid.

As it shot out of the ground, Ichigo moved just in time to dodge one of the daggers, which seemed to burn the air around them with their toxic poison. After missing, the arrancar once again jumped back into the ground.

"If this bastard keeps hiding, I'm not gonna be able to keep our deal Yoruichi!" He yelled as he began looking for the snake-like hollow.

She watched for a few minutes as the dull battle continued before Ichigo finally seemed to snap. He threw back his head as he let lose a massive howl, blowing away a decent amount of sand with the sound wave, before shoving his arm deep into the sand after a sign of movement on the surface. He let lose a victorious roar as he ripped the arrancar out of the sand by the tail, quickly hurling it high into the sky.

Ichigo launched after his enemy almost immediately, grabbing one of the arms before ripping it off after a very short struggle. He threw the limp arm back to the earth as he began making his decent back to the ground, far below.

Ichigo gathered reiatsu under his feet, using it to launch himself, and his enemy, at high speed towards the ground. He changed his grip to his enemies snake-like tail, using it to spin the arrancar around at a blinding speed before smashing him face first into the ground, just before they both made contact. The result was a massive crater, leaving Ichigo standing over the body of the unconscious enemy at the bottom.

"You win, but barely. Hakudo is about finesse, not brute force. If your going to master it, you'll have to learn to control your movements to a whole new degree." Yoruichi scolded as she walked up to Ichigo, with Grimmjow close behind.

"How's he up and moving again?" Ichigo asked.

"I used a little healing kido, so I fixed him and the other two as best as I could, but Orihime will have to look at the other two if they are going to survive." she answered quickly as she examined the body of the arrancar. "You definitely have enough power. I think you managed to break almost every bone that was still attached to his body." she said, earning a laugh from Grimmjow.

"Never killed someone that way before, maybe I should try it sometime." He said with a dark grin.

"That would be a waste of your talents. Your not a powerhouse fighter like Ichigo, you need to rely more on speed." Yoruichi said as she walked up to the top of a sand-dune. I'm heading back, I'll leave you two boys to clean up." she said before disappearing via shunpo.

Ichigo walked over and looked over Pesche and Dondochakka's bodies. They looked better than they had, with most of the cuts and scrapes gone.

Ichigo put his hand to his face, causing his body to be covered in a dark reiatsu shell. As he brought his hand away, the shell shattered to reveal him in bankai state. He then used shunpo to get to Zangetsu, which was still stuck in the ground to the hilt, before returning to pick up Pesche over his shoulder.

"Take him." He told Grimmjow, motioning towards Dondochakka.

"Why the hell should I?" he barked back, but received no answer as Ichigo began making his way back to Los Noches.

Grimmjow grumbled to himself as he walked over and threw the large arrancar over his shoulder. "Don't get used to bossin' me around so easily." he growled as he made his way to his old home, his mind still on Yoruichi's offer.

Los Noches

Shortly after Ichigo had left, Orihime had accomplished the task of restoring Nel. The two girls now sat in Orihime's room where the two had just finished changing.

"All done?" Orihime said happily, looking at the fully grown Nel.

The clothes they had found for Nel were almost an exact match of her former espada attire, while Orihime wore the same outfit she had worn during her time in Los Noches.

"They fit perfectly, thank you so much Orihime!" Nel said happily as she hugged the girl. "Do you think you can do the same for Pesche and Dondochakka when Ichigo gets back?" she asked with large, hope filled eyes.

"Sure, if Ichi-"

"Don't say if and Ichigo together Orihime." Nel interrupted quickly. "I told you before, as long as you believe in Ichigo, he can do anything, and I believe in him with all my being." she said with a smile, causing Orihime to do the same.

"O-ok, when Ichigo gets back with them, I'll do my best to restore them." she said happily.

Los Noches Dome

"This is strange isn't it?" Ryu asked as Stark as he looked around at the particles of light green reiatsu that were floating around on the dome. He wasn't sure exactly how, but he had talked Stark into coming here with him to investigate the odd sight.

"It is kind of odd. I've never seen reiatsu gather like this, not without someone causing it." Stark answered a moment later.

"That's what I thought so I checked it, and after an analysis I found it matched a reiatsu on Szayel's data files. Any idea who it could be?" Ryu asked, his mask hiding his expression completely.

Stark looked at him for a second before focusing on the reiatsu, trying to remember it's feel. After a few seconds, his eyes opened in shock. "It couldn't be?" he said with some astonishment, earning a light laugh from Ryu.

"Quite the conundrum isn't it?" he chuckled.

Current Time

Ichigo walked into his room, somewhat tired from his short battle. He wasn't very used to fighting hand-to-hand and it tired him too quickly. After allowing himself to revert to shikai, he placed Zangetsu against the wall next to his bed.

He walked over to the other door in his room and focused on one thought, 'shower', and was quickly rewarded as he opened the door to see his wish granted. As he got undressed, he thought about the headache of a conversation he had just experienced.

Flashback

Ichigo had walked through into the main doors where he saw all Orihime and all of the arrancar talking in a group. They quickly noticed him, and Nel ran over to relieve him of Pesche. "He is right behind me." He told her, answering her questioning gaze.

A few moments later Grimmjow appeared next to Ichigo, where he let Dondochakka fall to the ground. He stared around at the other espada for a moment before looking Orihime in the eyes. She had been playing with the front of her clothes.

"I'll be in my room." Grimmjow said evenly as he walked past the others into the hallways of Los Noches.

"An interesting man." Ryu mumbled.

"He'll find any reason he can to pick a fight with you." Stark said with a yawn as he walked towards Ichigo. In his opinion, he should be sleeping right now.

"What's up?" Ichigo asked. They had been acting kind of weird, and he was getting a little confused now.

"Oh! I almost forgot all about it, but thanks for reminding me." Ryu answered enthusiastically.

Ichigo stared at him before giving him a confused, "Your welcome?"

"Ulquiorra's back." Halibel said in her usual tone.

"What!" Ichigo nearly yelled. He saw him turn to ashes so how could he still be alive? Ichigo began looking around, looking for him.

"He's not really 'back'," Stark said, noticing Ichigo's worried look. "He seems to be reforming somehow on top of Los Noches, but we have no idea if and when it will be complete. Ryu has been looking into it, and he says he'll keep track of him."

"Of course I will! This is the first time I have ever heard of something like this, so I have to take the chance to research it." Ryu answered happily, his inner scientist beginning to show.

"What do you think about this Orihime?" Ichigo asked, causing Orihime to jump a little.

"Um . . well . . .I . . I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. Ulquiorra did some very bad things, but it was because Aizen ordered him too . . so I think he could be a good person if we gave him a chance." She said, now staring down at her hands as they toyed with her dress.

"He killed me Orihime. He almost killed you and Ishida also. Are you fine with that?" Ichigo asked again, now pointing out what he really meant.

This had caused Orihime to jump a little once again. After a few seconds she managed to meet Ichigo's eyes. "I know you can protect me if he tries to do anything Ichigo. I . . I believe in you." She said with confidence, not noticing the smile that appeared on Nel's face as her friend took her advice.

"Ok then." Ichigo said after a moment. "Let me know when you have any idea about when to expect him up and moving again." He said as he looked at Ryu, who bowed deeply before disappearing via sonido. "I'm going to take a shower." Ichigo mumbled before walking off to his room."

Ichigo's Room

Ichigo got out of the shower and put his robes back on. He thought about going and talking to Orihime, to make sure she was really all right, but decided a nap sounded better. He walked over to his bed, where he noticed what should have been obvious when he walked in.

Rukia was asleep on his bed. She looks as if she had dozed off without meaning too, since she was still laying on the covers. He stared at her for a moment before deciding to let her sleep there. He picked her up lightly, moving the covers out from underneath her, when she moved somewhat, mumbling "Ichigo?"

"It's fine, you can sleep." he whispered softly as he placed her back on the bed and covered her. He stopped to stare at her for a few moments as thought filled his head.

She's was beautiful, and he couldn't lie to himself about it any longer. He had tried to avoid his feelings for her since she was a shinigami and he was still alive, but now that he was permanently in his spirit form, things were different. He wanted to jump in bed and hold her as he fell asleep.

He turned away and let out a sigh. He walked back over to the black door and put his head against it. "I need a place to sleep." he grumbled. He heard a click, opened the door, and saw a small room with a comfortable bed and pillows. He walked over, where he threw himself down, and stared back through the door at the sleeping Rukia.

"Maybe one day." he mumbled to himself, as he drifted off to sleep.

(Authors Note- Did you like it? I think I beat myself up over the small things and expect it to be junk, but my reviews seem good enough so I guess i'm doin ok. Sorry if you expected an amazing fight scene, but like MKTerra said, it's less like a fight and more like a murder. If you like my work, keep posting, cause I loves it and I check for them constantly. If you hate my story, please post cause I need some criticism. Hope you all have a great weekend, and I hope to see you next week with my first double digit chapter :) see ya!)

and a side note, anyone know how to get other manga/anime added to fanfic because I want a Mother Keeper section


	10. Realization

(Authors Note- Hello again. Please read the chapter the whole way through before you judge it, since I could see some fans jumping ship for some of the early chapter material. It'll all make sense (hopefully) later. I hope you enjoy this odd little idea of my imagination. Thanks for the support and reviews, and please enjoy the chapter.)

* * *

Los Noches

Ichigo woke up to the screams.

He immediately jumped up and rushed into his room to find the bed slashed and covered with blood. Ichigo, thinking the worst, fell to his knees almost immediately.

"I . . . . She's . . . . . . . How?" He whispered. The sight struck him to the very core. Someone would pay, he'd make sure they payed dearly. Then he felt it.

He moved to it at his fastest speed, now completely filled with rage, as he sped through hallways filled with signs of fighting. He stopped as he came to the main gates of Los Noches, where he saw all his allies, some fighting against Shinigami, others lying about injured, or healing the injured.

At the center of the Shinigami he saw her, the one was responsible, she HAD to be. He barely noticed himself move as he launched across the battlefield field, howling.

"SOI FON!"

Her face had begun to widen in shock, but Ichigo was already upon her, not even bothering to draw his blade. His fist connected to her face with a deafening crack, sending her flying clear through three of the many pillars scattered around Los Noches.

"WHERE IS SHE SOI FON!" he roared in a echoing, hollow-like tone, as his black/gold seemed to shine with pure fury.

"S-she's . . . gone . . . Kurosaki" Soi Fon said as she staggered up, recovering from the surprise attack.

"no . . .no . . . no! . . . NOOO!" he howled as he once again dropped to the ground, bringing his fists down, severely cracking the ground around him. He sat there for a second, giving Soi Fon enough enough time to get behind him.

"Now you'll die, and it all will end." she said as she raised her sword.

Ichigo*

**Pathetic**

Why are you here?

**What? You don't miss me king?**

Your said you would disappear.

_We did._

Zangetsu?

**Is it me, or is this idiot even dumber than before?**

Why are you back?

_It's almost time Ichigo_

Time for what? Rukia's dead. You heard Soi Fon. I couldn't even protect one person.

_So you will simply fall apart, and let everything you both worked for crumble?_

**Of course he would, listen to him. Damned wimp.**

What should I do.

_Stand_

**Kill**

_**SURVIVE!**_

The Battlefield

Ichigo stared at the sand before him, as he heard the muffled sound of Soi Fon Behind him. "No" he whispered, as he reached over and lightly laid his index and ring finger upon Zangetsu's hilt.

The familiar feel of his hollow-like reiatsu flooded over him, filling him with energy. He could hear muffled yells as someone, shouted a bunch of incoherent non-sense. Ichigo stood and slowly took in the full scene.

All of his allies were dead.

His Enemies surrounded him.

Their dark, shadowed faces and captain cloaks fluttered in the light wind.

"How could this happen." he thought to himself. "And when did Soul Society get so many captains?"

he looked down at his chest as a dark, blood red reiatsu began pouring from his hollow hole.

"I failed." He whispered

With this his head was filled with quickly passing images of his friends, family and allies. All dead and in places he had never seen. It saddened him . . . it angered him . . . . it enraged him . . a blinding, limitless rage.

"Soul Society will fall." he said, causing the large crowd of captains around him to begin laughing, a maniacal, maddening laughter.

The dark red reiatsu now flowed forth with more force, spreading itself as he felt a wonderful, intoxicating feeling come over him.

Power. Pure, unrefined power. It flowed through his entire body, and he realized he himself had begun laughing, a sinister and twisted version of his own laugh, tainted even further with his hollow tone.

He raised a pale, clawed hand high into the air, where pitch black reiatsu gathered to form a pure, energy created Tensa Zangetsu.

As he swung it down, still laughing uncontrollably, the captains were wiped away. Everything was cleansed from his sight, leaving him encompassed in a heavy, omnidirectional darkness.

"I ." " . igo" "ICHIGO!"

The darkness faded, revealing a white room, a white bed, and a porcelain skinned beauty, dressed all in black.

Ichigo's Room

"Ichigo? Are . . are you feeling alright?" Rukia asked with a worried look.

Rukia? Your alive!" He said, taking two steps forward before everything fuzzily went back to black.

Several Hours Later

" . . . be okay?" a females voice asked.

"I did everything I could Rukia, but he's been unconciouss for hours." another girl responded.

"R-Rukia? Orihime? What . . . what happened?" Ichigo said wearily. His head felt like it had been used as a practice dummy for the entire 11th squads training.

"You . . . well, you passed out." Orihime told him.

"But you all died." Ichigo mumbled, as he took a chance at opening his eyes. "Agghh!" Bad idea. Now his eyes stung as well. "Why is everything so bright!" he grumbled

"The lighting is normal? Do you want the lights off Ichigo?" Rukia asked quickly.

"N-no. Just give me a minute." He told her as he began sitting up, causing his head to spin once again.

As he began to fall back, a hand quickly caught him and set him back into a sitting position. He opened his eyes to a squint, and saw that Rukia and Orihime couldn't have been the one to grab him. He looked over his shoulder to see a grim looking, dark-haired arrancar staring at him.

"Well shit, when did Ulquiorra get here?" he grumbled.

"I have been here for almost three hours, Kurosaki." Ulquiorra said evenly.

"At least your not trying to kill me. Anything else I should know about?" Ichigo asked, now opening his eyes all the way. Everyone was there, either sitting on is bed, at a table, or standing somewhere around his room.

"Nothing too much to report other than Ulquiorra joining us and what caused it." Ryu said happily.

"What caused it?" Ichigo said with a grimace as he attempted to stand, before his legs began wobbling and he started to fall. He was immediately aided by Orihime, Rukia, Nel, and Halibel. All of the girls slowly stared at each other for a second before they all went different shades of red, then quickly let go, leaving Ichigo to fall with a thud.

Sofu let out a little chuckle as he quickly walked over and helped Ichigo off the floor.

As Ichigo got his bearings, he took his weight upon himself and stood, now only slightly shaky. "So," He said through gritted teeth, staring down all of the girls. "What caused it?"

"You, of course." Stark said tiredly.

"Huh?" Ichigo responded, his face now full of confusion.

"While you were . . . . we'll say 'sleeping', you sent out a what can only be called a shock wave of reiatsu. During this time I was on the roof, studying Ulqiorra's phenomenon. It was then, after your reiatsu burst by, that Ulquiorra's reiatsu spontaneously compacted into, well, himself."Ryu explained quickly.

"So it seems that not only are you responsible for my death, but my revival as well, Kurosaki." Ulquiorra said without any hint of emotion.

"Great, glad I could help." Ichigo said sarcastically through a scowl. "But I just watched you all die!" He roared.

"All of us, die? Are you insane Ichigo? And who did it?" Ichida asked, speaking up from near the back of the group.

So Ichigo retold his experience, and nearly an hour later, the tale had been told.

"Clearly, it was all a dream." Ryu said almost immediately.

"Not quite a dream." Ulquiorra quickly said, his voice hinting curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked impatiently.

"Ulquiorra is right. It isn't a dream, but a sign, to Ichigo of course." Sofu said happily, a smile playing across his old face.

"What the hell kinda sign is that suppose ta be?" Grimmjow asked, leaning in as the conversation got interesting.

"What did you feel. What was the most overpowering thing you felt throughout the 'dream'?" Sofu asked, the smile now showing clearly across his face.

"I . . I don't know. . . Rage? Fury? Pure and utter hatred?"

"No," Ulquiorra said quickly, "Even more overpowering. The root of it all."

"I don't kn. . ." Ichigo's eyes began widening in shock. "It was my lack of power . . . I felt so weak and helpless that I couldn't stand it, and then, at the end of it all, I was more powerful than them all, and it felt . . . good." he finished, his eyes now open all the way in complete shock.

"So . . . that was it." Stark said quietly

"That much energy, for that?" Grimmjow said, a look of disbelief on his face.

"What are you all talking about." Orihime spoke up, causing all eyes to go on Ulquiorra.

He stared at Ichigo for a moment before he finally spoke. "All members of the espada rule over an aspect of death. The aspect may pass on to the next generation of espada, or skip a few before resurfacing. My aspect would be called nihilism, or, as some would say, the belief of nothing, While Stark embodies loneliness, Halibel embodies sacrifice, and Grimmjow is destruction." He said,taking a pause before e continued.

"Our greatest power is our greatest weakness, and the way we find these cursed gifts are diferent. I believe, and I think think the others agree, that Ichigo has found his." He finished.

"But I'm not an espada." Ichigo said Quickly.

It was Sofu who answered. "No, you are the king of the espada. You are the rightful Cero espada, king of the espada. It was Aizen who twisted the traditions, but with him gone, they will continue."

"I don't understand. What exactly is Ichigo's realm of death?" Rukia asked, thoroughly confused by it all.

"Isn't that simple?" Halibel asked her, in a slightly mocking tone.

Ichigo looked down at his hand as a blank look covered his face.

"My realm of death is . . . Power?"

* * *

* Ichigo _Zangetsu_ **Hichigo** _**Hichi and Zangetsu**_

(Authors Note – So, how did you like it? I wrote it all between 3-5 a.m. in the morning (and checked it myself since my beta is on break, HAVE FUN SCHIFFER), so it may not be my best work, but I like it. It may be a little confusing to some, and crystal clear to others (if your head works in the same twisted way as mine) so I'll explain further next chapter. Please R&R! It's 5:30 am, soooooo goodnight!)


	11. Beginnings

(Authors Note)

Hello Again! I hope you enjoy where chapter 11 leads the story. I'm kinda tired so I won't say much, but please R&R or PM me if you have any comments or questions, so I can try to answer them. Enjoy.

* * *

Los Noches – Ichigo's Room

Ichigo stared off into the distance with a determined look as he tried to understand his realm of death. What exactly did it mean? He understood how it was his greatest power, that part was simple, but how was it also his greatest weakness? That's what really confused him.

Sofu watched Ichigo from his seat at the nearby table. Ever since Ichigo had learned of his realm, he had been silent as he contemplated it. He was too young and inexperienced to understand what it truly meant, but Sofu knew that it would make sense one day

He looked around at the other occupants of Ichigo's room, but noticed one member was missing. He leaned over to Ishida, who was sitting across from him. "Where did your feline friend go?" causing Ishida to quickly look around.

"I'm not sure. I could have sworn she was here just a minute ago." They looked around for a few more seconds before they felt a faint presence. Others in the room noticed it. Some gained somewhat confused looks, others slowly drew their weapons, but Ichigo was the most noticeable. He had slowly turned to face the door with a look of pure dread.

Someone ran down the halls towards the room, thundering along the whole way before a loud screech was heard. Seconds after the door exploded open as the yell filled the castle.

"I-C-H-I-G-O-O-O!"

Isshin Kurosaki burst into the room in a flying drop kick, only to be quickly countered and thrown into the wall by Ichigo, causing everyone else in the room to sweat drop. "Lessons . . . free." Isshin groaned as he slid down the wall.

Ichigo looked down at his dad and sighed. "How the hell did you . . . huh?" Once again a rumble could be heard. Ichigo turned to face the door, ready for the worst.

"ICHIGO!"

Before anyone could even move, Ichigo had been sent flying clear through the opposite wall, leaving a giggling Mashiro where he had been standing.

"Let's do it again!" She cheered, ignoring the others as she bounced back over to the door, sticking her head out and yelling. "Hurry up! We found him!"

After a moment, Urahara walked in, followed closely by Shinji. "Hello!" The shopkeeper said happily, ignoring the fact that some of the Arrancar had drawn their swords. He looked around for a minute before noticing a pair of feet sticking out of some rubble through the wall. "Aha! Kurosaki, please get up and greet your guests," he said happily as he walked over and began poking one of his legs.

Ichigo burst out of the pile almost immediately, looking around wide-eyed. "Huh, who? Where'd she go?" he sputtered out. The last thing he had remembered was a feminine voice and a foot making contact with his face.

"She's gone Kurosaki. Don't feel bad, not many are good enough to counter Mashiro in . . . uhh . . . ah! Foot-to-face combat." Urahara said with a grin, flashing his fan out to hide his smile from Ichigo.

"Urahara? Shinji? What are you, no, what are all of you doing here?" Ichigo said in a confused tone. He could now feel the reiatsu of all of the Vizards, along with Tessai, the two kids, and someone he didn't know at all.

Ishida must have noticed them too, as he quickly stood up. "I need to go see someone." he told them quickly, as he hurried out the door at a fast pace. Halibel, Stark, Lilynette, Nel, Pesche, Dondochakka, Grimmjow, and Ryu all filtered out afterward, either wanting to give the obvious friends some space, or just wanting to get out of the conversation period. This left Sofu and Ulquiorra as the only Arrancar in the room.

"I see you have made some new friends." Shinji said, showing his usual grin as he watched them leave the room, keeping a rather close eye on Halibel.

"You didn't answer me." Ichigo said stubbornly.

"Oh, yes, that." Urahara replied quickly. "Well, since you left Soul Society in such an interesting way, I have been getting badgered by Seireitei almost daily with questions about what your training contained. They also seem to have reproduced my method of Bankai training. I know for a fact that besides using this to battle Aizen, they plan to use it to defeat you also." He finished, his face completely serious.

"Not only that, but they want to clear out all of us." Shinji said darkly. "The Old man wants us all gone, which is bad, but also gives us some hope."

"Where the hell do you get hope from that?" Ichigo retorted, his face just as serious as the men in front of him.

"I would have to say he fears you." Sofu spoke up, gaining the rooms attention. A small grin had appeared on his face. It's appearance seemed to calm the room a little.

"He's right," Kisuke said, now smiling also, "Yamamoto is worried. When he did not allow you to remain free, he lost his biggest weapon against Aizen and made a possibly greater enemy. Now he prepares for war on two fronts. Soooooo, after a few talks, Isshin, Shinji, and I decided we would come to aid you."

Ichigo crossed his arms, his face going into a scowl. "And this means I'm supposed to let you stay here doesn't it? Why the hell should I? All I'll get is a captain-class head-ache."

"Oh Ichigo! How could you be so cruel!" Isshin cried, now rising from his place on the floor. "Even your own father? What would your dear mother say?" Isshin bawled, now clinging onto a wall, where his wife's massive poster had miraculously appeared. "What did I do wrong!" he cried.

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo roared, landing a solid punch to his father's face, silencing him immediately, causing the others in the room to sweat drop once again.

"Come on Ichigo! We can stay here can't we? Heck, we can even continue your Vizard training." Shinji said happily.

"What would the point be?" Ulquiorra interrupted. "He has already ascended past your state of 'Vizard', so why should he continue its training?"

"The final step of our training has nothing to do with what you are. Vizard or Arrancar, all you need is Shinigami and Hollow reiatsu.." Shinji said happily, earning Ichigo's attention.

"What kind of training is it?" he asked.

"Nope, not tellin you a thing. It's a secret until to anyone until they begin it themselves. "Shinji told him with a sly look, knowing he had him.

"Fine, you can stay, but we start this training immediately." Ichigo said stubbornly. Shinji gave him a quick thumbs up before leaving the room, easily heard in the hallways saying, "Miss Arrancar? Where are you my first love?"

"I kinda hope he finds her. If I'm lucky then Halibel will kill him." Ichigo muttered, causing Urahara to laugh.

"I doubt Shinji would die that easily anyway, but what I REALLY want to discuss is the plan Yoruichi told me of." Urahara said, before giving his full attention to Sofu.

"She tells me you have an idea to cure Rukia and Orihime? Could I offer my assistance?" He asked with a large grin, which Sofu instantly responded too.

"Of course you can," He said, now smiling himself. "I'd love to hear your ideas on the subject. Would you mind accompanying me to Ryu's lab? He has been doing the research for me." He finished, as he stood and held his hand out to the door, leading the way.

"A proper lab? I haven't had that pleasure in decades. I'd be delighted." Urahara said, barely holding in his excitement as he followed the old Arrancar.

Ichigo watched them leave, when Orihime and Chad stood also. "I'm going to go see Hachi. I need to talk to him about some stuff." Orihime said brightly, waving as she left.

"I'm gonna go train." Chad said before making his way out.

This left Ichigo and Rukia alone . . . with Isshin.

"So Ichigo! Has Rukia stolen your virginity from you yet?" Isshin asked happily, throwing Ichigo and Rukia completely off guard.

Desert outside of Los Noches

It had been several hours since everyone had arrived, and most had split into groups for the purpose of training. The largest of which now met in the deserts of Hueco Mundo, with Los Noches barely in sight.

"Hello again!" Urahara sang out happily, waving to the large group of people around him. "I asked you all out here for what may be the most crucial part of the training that will go on here. After meeting with Sofu, Tessai, Hachi, and Ichigo, we have decided that everyone here is absolutely necessary." He called out.

The large group consisted of all of the Vizards, Tessai, Orihime, Chad, Ishida, Isshin, Rukia, Ichigo, Ulquiorra, Halibel, Stark, and Sofu.

"Why are we all needed?" Starrk asked tiredly.

"Because Kurosaki said we are." Ulquiorra said blankly.

"If you'll listen," Sofu said with a light smile, "The answer will become clear."

Urahara smiled broadly at hearing this. "Okay! Now to explain. We have come up with a new way to train you all, but will focus on quickly powering a select few at a time. Ichigo, Shinji please come here." Urahara asked politely. When they were within distance, Urahara looked over at Shinji. "You and the other Vizards understand what do to right?"

"Of course, just leave it to us! I'm sure the others will catch on soon enough. Shinji asked.

"Alright! Let's begin. Tessai, Hachi, if you would." Urahara said quickly before walking towards the main group. After giving a few quick instructions, the large group moved away from Ichigo, leaving him a very large distance away from them.

Tessai and Hachi used shunpo to get to opposite sides of Ichigo, with a comfy 100 meters in between them and their target. "Chad, Ishida, Rukia, Orihime. If you would, please stand around Ichigo in even spacing. You should be about four feet away from him." Tessai called out as he put on a glove with a skull on the back. As the four followed his instructions he placed a hand on his forehead, causing his gigai to launch backwards a few feet, leaving him standing in his Kido Corp. robes.

"Okay guys, you know what to do." Shinji yelled out, as the remaining Vizards split up between the four friends surrounding Ichigo. Love and Rose went to Ishida, Mashiro and Kensei went to Chad, Shinji and Lisa went to Orihime, and Hiyori went to Rukia.

Urahara took a seat in the sand as he yelled out to the others "Halibel, please assist Hiyori with Rukia. Stark, Ulquiorra. You get the difficult job. You'll be helping handle Ichigo along with us." He said, nodding towards Isshin.

"I will handle my son, if you don't mind." A voice called out, as a man appeared a couple yards away from Ishida immediately after.

"Ah, Ryuuken! Happy to see you. I didn't think you wanted to help?" Urahara said happily.

"I didn't but I won't allow Shinigami to teach my son." he said, before he looked over at Love and Rose. "You won't be needed."

Love just shrugged, before turning to walk away. "A hero is always prepared to save the day, so I'll stay close." Rose followed behind as he pulled out an mp3 player and began listening to "Prince of Darkness".

"Okay, let's get this show on the road!" Urahara called out, as Hachi and Tessai began quietly chanting. A massive square barrier appeared between them, before splitting into four even sections, separating the fiends.

"You four need to focus on Ichigo. Try to connect to him spiritually. Normally this would be impossible, but the barrier will allow this kind of connection." Tessai said, loudly enough for them to hear. Rukia, Orihime, Chad, and Ishida nodded as they closed their eyes and concentrated.

"Ichigo, you need to communicate with your Zanpakutou, just as we discussed." Isshin yelled out. Ichigo grumbled something as he sat down.

After a few moments, the air stilled, and the ground began to slowly rumble. Hachi and Tessai muttered quick chants, which were followed by 4 large sets of pillars, falling from the sky to pin down Rukia, Orihime, Ishida, and Chad.

Hachi formed a hand signs and began mumbling a chant at a noticeably different pace, "Bakudo ninety-nine: Kin!" causing Ichigo's arms to be bound together, immediately followed by Tessai shoving forefingers into the ground where he yelled "Bakudo ninety-nine part two: Bankin! First song, constriction!"

Ichigo was instantly covered in white cloth. Wasting no time, Tessai changed his chant, "Second song, Hundred bolts!" Ichigo was pierced all over by knives. Barely a second later, Tessai's voice rang out, louder than ever, "Final song, Bankin Taihou!" A massive square of seki-seki stone fell down upon Ichigo, driving him a couple feet into the ground.

"I only trust this too hold him for a few minutes. Please use this time to prepare for his release. I warn you now, he will be angry, violent, and irrational." Tessai yelled out. As the rest of the group pulled their eyes from Ichigo, they noticed something truly . . stunning.

A thick white paste now emitted from the other four's face as they were pinned to the ground. Urahara grimaced as the air was filled with the howls of thousands of hollows that felt the terrible reiatsu that radiated from the five friends.

"Sometimes I really hate it when I'm right."

* * *

(Authors Note)

How did you like it? Thanks for the reviews and the support. I'll have 12 and 13 out ASAP, since they will contain the stuff some people have been PM'n me about. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and see you soon.


	12. Changes

(Authors Note)

Hello again. Here is Chapter 12! I wrote this one two different times, hated them both, and decided to just mix the better ideas together, so I hope you like it. Thanks for the support and reviews, and please don't forget to read the end note for this one. Enjoy :)

* * *

Hueco Mundo - Rukia

Hiyori staggered to her feet. She had just been saved by Hallibel after Rukia had shunpoed to them, where she immediately grabbed Hiyori and began strangling her. Now that Hallibel had kicked the Shinigami off the Vizard, she was casually fighting Rukia, who was still not strong enough to match the Tercera Espada.

"Damn that bitch." Hiyori grumbled as she massaged her sore throat. She had surprised her just like Ichigo had, which made everything worse. She wasn't near as strong as him, but she still put up a good fight.

Rukia's partially formed mask only covered the lower left side of her face, covering up to just below her now black/icy blue eyes. The teeth looked like Ichigo's hollow mask, sharp and sinister looking, but the rest of what was visible was much more rounded, and fitted to her face. There were no visible marks on the mask yet.

Hallibel toyed with Rukia for awhile, which noticeably irritated her. Rukia launched another assault of attacks upon the arrancar, only to be knocked away with a quick kick. Hallibel began walking towards the small cloud of dust Rukia had created with her impact. Her eyes widened before she jumped high into the air, watching as snow and ice shot from Rukia's blade.

From her new position in the sky above, she could she Rukia now held a pure white Zanpakuto. Another noticeable change was that her mask now covered all but the upper right side of her face. From the bridge of the nose of her mask, a light purple pattern very similar to a snow-flake covered the top half of her mask.

"So, you can put up a fight, Shinigami." Hallibel said as she drew her sword. "I'll show you why you don't deserve to be close to Ichigo." She said darkly, before charging in after Rukia.

Hueco Mundo – Orihime

"How you doin Lisa?" Shinji called out. He had been letting her fight Orihime, since it was less of a fight, and more of a casual training session for them. Of course Orihime had been slowly gaining strength during the fight, but she was still too weak to place any killing blows on them yet. Her shield on the other hand had progressed to a point where it seemed to move on its own. It floated around her and with any hint of an oncoming attack it would immediately move into place to block it.

Besides the shield, Orihime's mask development was now at a point where it was spreading to her body. The mask itself was an oval shape that had gained light yellow marks on both sides, similar to Ichigo's former mask. The teeth were more rounded, giving them a less threatening look.

The mask had spread down to cover from her right shoulder to left hip, completely encasing the left arm. A pair of small, wing like appendages had appeared on back, but she had not shown that they had any use. Her hand had small, claw like tips, while the remainder of her arm seemed normal. After first wounding her, she had shown that she had high-speed regeneration, along with an above average hierro on the parts that were covered by mask.

Lisa had been the only one fighting since the beginning, and Shinji had had no problem with it, since Lisa tended to fight girls in a very appealing way. He had simply sat back and watched as Lisa had fun with Orihime.

He looked down at his watch. It had been twenty minutes. If the four had not mutated into hollows then they would be reaching an end right now, but just like Urahara warned them, Ichigo's constant presence near them had given them more extreme side-effects since his hollow reiatsu had grown in power.

"First his Shinigami reiatsu mutated them to gain spiritual powers, and now his hollow reiatsu causes them to become similar to Vizards and Arrancar. He really needs to learn some control or we may all change in some way." Shinji mumbled to no one in particular.

Hueco Mundo – Uryuu

Ryuuken stood in a single place as he block all of his sons attacks with his own. He didn't mind admitting that his sons attacks were much more powerful than they had been, but he would never be beaten by the wild and random attacks that this hollow version of Uryuu endlessly shot out.

He had been disgusted when he saw the slim mask that was forming on his sons face. It covered almost all of it now, leaving only a his right eye uncovered. It was pointed near the top and bottom, while the side were rounded. The mask had a wide slit in the middle that allowed vision, with no other features, not even a mouth, while thin blue lines spiked from the edges of his mask.

The speed and number of the attacks that Uryuu had been launching had been slowly increasing over time as the mask formed. As Ryuuken blocked these, he saw Uryuu jump high into the air, where he pulled back his bow once more. The tip of the arrow formed and drew in power, but quickly changed from blue to a near white. Uryuu let the arrow loose, sending it howling down towards his father, barely managed to dodge.

"Firing ceros now? How long do you plan to let those hollow powers pollute you Uryuu?" Ryuuken scoffed, as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and used it to pull back a large arrow. "If you don't overcome this, I will kill you like the pathetic excuse of a Quincy you are." he said expressionlessly as he let the arrow loose, sending it hurtling at his son.

Hueco Mundo - Chad

"I'm up first." Kensei said as he dashed towards Chad. Chad blocked the punch with right arm, which quickly changed into it's true from. Kensei's eyes widened as he saw the black and red shield. Chad shoved him him back before lots of energy began to pour out from the shield.

Kensei sheathed his blade before swiping a hand across his face to form his mask, while he pointed his other at Chad and began charging a cero. Chad fired his el directo first, but it was easily overpowered by Kensei's cero, which blasted through and hit Chad, sending up a huge cloud of sand.

Kensei watched the cloud of sand cautiously as it began to settle. After a few seconds a shape was visibly standing in the cloud. Kensei let out a sigh as he got a good look of Chad.

His left arm had transformed to it's true form, and his whole upper body was now covered in a hollowish shell. From his lower abdomen up, the armor was split down the middle in a black and white shell, as the red markings covered his chest in a rib-like pattern. His head had been completely encased in a smooth, horned mask, that reminded Kensei of Ichigo's Luna Caida. The horns were shorter with a wider base, while the mask was also split down the middle with a black right side and white left side. Covering the mask were red lines that gave the mask an even more skull-like appearance.

"Wow Kensei, he looks pretty scary." Mashiro added in a childish voice as she laid on the ground a few meters away, watching the fight with mild amusement.

"Get ready, it'll be your turn before too long." Kensei said as he pulled out his zanpakuto.

Hueco Mundo – Kisuke, Isshin, Ulquiorra, and Stark

The four had sat at the outer edge of the barrier, waiting for their sign to begin. Stark had fallen asleep, and Isshin had been focusing on gathering his power. Ulquiorra looked into the barrier, staring at the large block of seki-seki stone that sealed Ichigo. Urahara sat in the sand and fanned himself.

"What is the purpose of so many barriers and seals?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Ah, that's what you've been thinking." Urahara answered, putting away his fan as he sat forward. He looked up at the Espada with a small smile. "Well you see, our original plan was to seal Ichigo and train the others in a high stakes situation, where they had to win before we released him. Of course he agreed to it after some . . . persuasion, but we would have done it anyway. There were two risks though." He said, taking a breath before continuing.

"One was that his hollow reiatsu could have progressed the spiritual development of those who spent large amounts of time with him, similar to the way his Shinigami reiatsu did. As you saw, this was indeed the outcome. The second of which, was that the seals and barriers would have a extremely small chance to excel the changes that are currently occurring in Ichigo." Urahara finished, leaning back as he watched Ulquiorra contemplate his words.

"So," Ulquiorra began, taking his eyes off of Ichigo's 'tomb' to look Urahara in the eyes, "you mean to tell me that you risked the future king of Los Noches in an attempt to strengthen our weakest members, and also that everything that could have went wrong has?"

Urahara couldn't help but to look a little ashamed by the look Ulquiorra had given him. "Yes, but everything has not went wrong yet, and this could turn out to be a radical success. We just need to hope that-"

Urahara was cut off as a muffled roar echoed across the battlefield, causing the ground to shack. The air was then filled with an extremely heavy reiatsu, breaking Hachi's outer barriers to reveal the large seki-seki seal beginning to crack.

"This isn't good." Urahara said as he stood and drew his sword.

"He's going to break free soon." Ulquiorra said in an emotionless tone, drawing his sword.

"Wha- wha's goin on?" Stark said in a voice that clearly showed him to be more asleep than awake.

"I don't know if I have regained enough power to fight that kind of strentgh." Isshin said as he stood and drew his sword.

"Get ready, and don't hold back." Urahara said as he placed a hand on his sword. "Awake, Benehime."

Ichigo

Ichigo opened his eyes as he felt rain fall on his face, only to find himself on a large slab of crumbling concrete, completely surrounded by water that faded into an endless darkness. He stared into the downpour for a long time before a single bolt of lighting flashed across the sky, causing Ichigo's eyes to widen in shock as the world around him was illuminated.

It had been a brief light, but Ichigo had taken it all in. In the distance their were massive sky-scrapers that defiantly stuck a few stories above the vast ocean of darkness. They were all faded and crumbling, while large, twisted, black spikes jutted out from the many many building and surrounding water. Ichigo walked to the edge of the water and stared into the water, where another bolt illuminated the dark sea, revealing the many sunken buildings surrounding him. He stared into the black water long after the light faded, when he was greeted by a voice.

"It really is sad." The unknown person said from from behind Ichigo.

He turned to face the stranger, ready for an attack. "Who are you?" He asked as he saw the hooded figure. A scowl appeared on his face

"Take a guess Ichigo." The man said as he held out a hand before him. Dark reiatsu gathered to his hand to form into Tensa Zangetsu.

"Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked curiously.

The man smiled slightly as he shook his head. "Not exactly Ichigo." he said as he jumped towards Ichigo, bringing his sword down in a powerful slash.

Ichigo blocked the attack and forced the man back a few feet. He stared at the man's sword for a moment before he looked at what he could see of his face. "Tensa . . . Zangetsu?" He said warily.

"I'm happy you figured it out so quick." Zangetsu told him, removing his hood to show his youthful face.

"If you're here then he is too." Ichigo said as he looked around for his pale shadow. "Get out here!" He yelled.

He noticed the attack just before it hit, turning just in time to counter the slash of claws that were aimed at the back of his neck. Ichigo's scowl deepened as he rushed in and delivered a swift punch to the man in the horned mask's stomach, knocking the breath out of him. "Didn't you say we were done with these fights?" Ichigo asked as he gripped Hichigo by the collar of his coat and ripped his mask off.

The mask revealed Hichigo's wild grin, as he chuckled at Ichigo. "You're definitely tougher king, but don't let that go to your head." He said before planting a strong kick in Ichigo's chest, breaking loose from his grip. As he dusted his coat off his mask began reforming on his head. "And we haven't settled this yet. Your not king for good until this little transformation of ours is good and done."

"Why am I back here Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked without taking his eyes from Hichigo.

"The transformation is almost over. We were simply waiting for a chance to communicate again, which your friends kindly provided." Zangetsu told him as he turned and walked over the edge of the building onto the surface of the water.

Ichigo turned to look at Zangetsu, his deep scowl still showing. "So what? Do I have to beat him back again?" He said as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Hichigo.

"Not that simple king. Whoever walks out of this one as champ is king for good, and even the kid over there wants in." Hichigo said happily.

Ichigo took a few glances at the two before he walked out over the water after Zangetsu. "So this is it huh? Last time we all see each other in person?" He asked the young Zangetsu, who gave him an emotionless stare before letting out a small sigh. He raised his sword in preparation. "Yes Ichigo, this is it." he said before looking at him and giving him a small smile. "Goodbye Ichigo, I truly will miss you."

"Come on you two!" Hichigo yelled as he drew his sword and went into a crouch on top of the small roof. "Don't puss out and get all sappy. DON"T HOLD BACK!" He roared as he launched himself at the other two, cackling madly as he flew at them, shattering the roof and sending large waves out in all directions.

In the few seconds before the fight began, a small smile appeared on Ichigo's face as he prepared to meet the others attacks. "Thank you." He whispered as he dove in to meet the other two.

As the three collided, a massive explosion of dark reiatsu stirred up massive waves and a torrential storm of rain.

* * *

(Authors Note)

Did you like it? I know some people will be dissapointed with the lack of fighting and action that should go along with this kind of event, but don't lose hope for me yet! I plan on dedicating the next chapter to fights, fights, more fights, and maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe a new character.

Only a couple more chapters before the Rise of the Espada arc is over! if i'm counting right, which i'm probably not, I need to fill 2-3 more spots before we have an even 10 espada (not counting Ichigo) Haven't really decided on a name for the next arc, but I can tell you it will bring everyone back into the story.

Don't forget to R&R, or to go get some R&R if you've been working to much, and send me any question in a PM since I usually don't answer the reviews, even though I LOVE getting and reading them.

See Ya next time and happy 5th of July :D


	13. The King

(Authors Note)

Hello again, and sorry for the mishap of last chapter, which is now fixed. I got the next chapter for you all and I think it's a good one. Hope you like it!

Enjoy Chapter 13 :)

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Hueco Mundo

The seki-seki stone exploded as an ocean of reiatsu spread out across the field. As the smoke from the explosion settled a horned figure emerged from the cloud.

Shinji stared as Ichigo walked forward. His mask was gone, but the horns and marking remained. His Bankai coat had vanished, leaving only his lower body covered in black robes. His long orange hair stuck out against his pale white skin as the black markings around his hollow hole seemed to radiate power. His hands and feet were clawed with tufts of red fur around the wrists and ankles.

He stared around at the many people surrounding him with a bored expression. As his eyes wandered, they met the gaze of Ulquiorra, who slowly raised his sword until it pointed at Ichigo. "Enclose, Murcielago." he said softly, erupting into a torrent of black/green reiatsu that poured down on the others like rain.

Ichigo's face went into a wide grin before he vanished from sight before, appearing next to Ulquiorra barely a second later. Ulquiorra's eyes widened as he saw Ichigo, who leaned forward and whispered "Don't hold back." in a entanglement of voices that sounded like a combination of Ichigo, Hichigo, Zangetsu, and Hollow. Ulquiorra turned his head to look at Ichigo, but he was already gone. His eyes shot to the side to see Ichigo standing in the same place he had been before.

"Did everyone else see that too?" stark spoke up, looking a little shocked.

"Yea, I saw it." Isshin answered, staring at his son with wide eyes.

Urahara walked forward and pulled his hat down on his head. "Don't let him get to you, just attack together and we should be fine."

"I'll be right back." Stark said as he turned and faced Los Noches. "I'll need Lilynette for this one." he said before vanishing via sonido.

"Let us begin." Ulquiorra stated as his black/green reiatsu swirled around him and his clothes began breaking away. "Ressureccion, Segunda Etapa." he said, before vanishing, reappearing behind Ichigo with a green spear of reiatsu. "Lanzo del Relampago!" he said as he stabbed the spear forward.

Ichigo's smile widened as he turned his head and knocked the spear off course, so that it shot harmlessly past him, where it exploded far away causing a gigantic explosion that send waves of sand tumbling across the desert.

Ichigo pulled back his hand as if to use it impale Ulquiorra, when Kisuke appeared above him as he swung his sword down. "Sing, Benihime!" he yelled, sending a red wave of energy crashing down upon Ichigo. Ulquiorra took the chance and dove back as he charged another lance.

As soon as it was formed, a large wave of ice shot past, encasing his left arm. He looked down at it before jerking it out and shattering the ice. "Can you two not handle one Shinigami?" he asked as he turned and looked upon the released Hallibel, a masked Hiyori, and the Hollowfied Rukia.

She was almost fully transformed now, as only a fraction of her face remained uncovered. A light purple pattern reminiscent of a snow flake covered the upper half of her face while a bands of pur white fur surrounded her wrists and collar. Her hair had grew in length, as her silky black hair stretched to her mid-back. She held Sode No Shirayuki in her hands with a wild look in her eyes. The strangest of all was that she seemed to be soaking in the thick black/red reiatsu that surrounded them all.

"Shut the hell up!' Hiyori yelled as she she fixed her broken mask with one hand while jumping in to attack with her sword in the other. Hallibel said nothing as she raised her and charged it with a yellow reiatsu.

"Ulquiorra! A little help here!" Kisuke yelled as he did his best to block and counter Ichigo's incoming kicks and claw slashes. Ulquiorra took a quick look at the other three battles and noticed that Chad, Uryuu, and Orihime all seemed to be feeding off of Ichigo's reiatsu, further increasing their power.

He used sonido to quickly get back into the fight, where he used his lance to help Kisuke as they attempted to put Ichigo onto the defensive. Ichigo let out a laugh of mixed voices as he casually blocked the oncoming attack.

After a few seconds Kisuke looked at Ulquiorra and mouthed 'move' before letting loose another 'song' from benehime and jumping out of the way. Ulquiorra looked around and saw Tessai, Isshin, and Hachi standing around Ichigo chanting Kido, when all three raised their hands and yelled "Way of Destruction No. 88 Hiryugekizoku shintenraiho!" causing huge blue beams of lightning to fire out at Ichigo from three sides. Kisuke immediately raised his word and cried out "Sing! Benehime!" Seeing his chance, Ulquiorra sonido's high above them, where he threw his lance at Ichigo. They had him surrounded

As the attacks closed in on Ichigo he let out a high laugh as he raised his hand into the air, where black/red reiatsu gathered to form Tensa Zangetsu. "Getsuga Tenshou." He said in his odd mixture of voices just as the attacks hit.

The explosion that followed engulfed most of the battlefield, causing the other fights to stop as they braced against the force of the explosion. After few moments later, the smoke cleared to reveal a swirling sphere of black reiatsu floating in the middle of a giant crater filled with smoldering flames. As the five watched, the sphere slowly broke away to reveal Ichigo in a long, ragged ended black cloak that left his chest bare, while flowing down to his feet, with dark red fur lining the hood that laid behind his head.

"Is it me, or is he getting stronger?" Isshin yelled out.

"It's just you." a female voice yelled out as a figured blurred past and punched Ichigo hard in the chest, sending him flying into a sand dune.

"See," Yoruichi said as she let her shunko fade, "he's not that tough."

Ichigo appeared behind her with his sword raised high and an maniacal smile on his face. "My turn." He roared out, catching Yoruichi by surprise. Just as he was about to strike, multiple blue shots hit him from the sides, giving her enough time to get away

"What'd I miss?" Stark asked, appearing in his ressureccion form as he kept his aim on Ichigo from high in the sky.

"Oh, not much, just teaching the boy how to fight." Isshin said casually, giving a small grin.

"Hows it going so far?" Stark asked in a humorous voice, as a smile appeared on his face.

"Horrible, he throws a lousy left hook." Kisuke said as he put a hand to his bruising jaw.

"I don't think he agrees." Ulquiorra added in, ignoring their humor.

They all turned to see Ichigo dust himself off as he walked out of the smoke, a slight scowl on his face.

"I don't care what he thinks, I KNOW he punches like a girl . . . well, a weak girl at least." Yoruichi said with a large grin.

"DIE!" Ichigo roared as he tore across the battlefield to his father, shattering the ground in his path. He had moved so quick that no one made it in time to help Isshin, who stared in shock as his son brought his sword down to cut him across the chest. Just as his sword was about to connect, a high pitched howl filled the air, causing him to stop and making everyone to look in it's direction.

A few dozen meters away, Hallibel and Hiyori stood over the bleeding body of Rukia. Isshin eyes widened as he saw this, and he quickly looked to Ichigo, who's face was now filled with rage. A low snarling could be heard as Ichigo let out massive amounts of reiatsu, pressing down on all around him.

"Protect them!" Isshin yelled as he shunpoed to get between Ichigo, Hallibel, and Hiyori. The others all quickly appeared next to Isshin as they hoped to defend the two girls. Ichigo slowly stood straight as he lifted an index finger and pointed it at Hallibels heart. A small black orb of reiatsu began forming at it's tip, while swirls of black/red reiatsu spiraled down his arm, coating the cero in a vortex of energy.

"It's a cero!" Isshin yelled out."

"No, its not, it feels like he's charging a Getsuga Tenshou." Yoruichi said as she watched him wide-eyed."

"It . . it can't be?" Kisuke said in amazement.

"What? What is it?" Stark asked as he charged two cero oscuras.

"It's both." Ulquiorra answered as he put his hands together to form another lance.

They all faced Ichigo with shocked expressions as the orb grew to a large size. Ichigo let the attack loose. "Cielos Colmillo Retorcido!" He said in a dark voice as the black orb shot out, surrounded and trailed by the spiraling black/red reiatsu.

Inner World

"Come on Ichigo!" Hichigo roared as he brought his sword down in a powerful slash, splitting the top of the ocean as he sent Ichigo deep under water.

Ichigo quickly regained his balance and prepared for a counter attack when he saw Zangetsu flying at him like a torpedo, sword raised to strike. Ichigo managed to block in time and grabbed the back of Zangetsu's cloaked and hurled him into a nearby building, causing it to collapse.

"Forgetting someone?" A dark voice echoed, causing Ichigo to quickly turn as and face Hichigo, who stood just below the waters surface.

Ichigo raised his sword to attack when his body pulsed and a high pitched scream filled the air. Ichigo grabbed his head to shake off the pain as an image of Rukia laying in a growing pool of blood flashed across his mind.

"Oh, I like that. I guess if you don't win, you're woman will die." Hichigo said as a huge grin spread across his face.

Ichigo slowly took his hand from his head and placed it back on his sword. They were all cut up, battered, bruised, and exhausted, but Ichigo knew he had to win more than ever. He began glowing in with a black/red reiatsu as he lifted his head to look Hichigo's eyes. "I'm ending this." He said, as his eyes began glowing with a light blue reiatsu, causing the grin to fade from Hichigo's face.

"Not this time! THIS TIME I'll BE KING!" he roared as he began charging a cero between his horns.

"I'm afraid I will be winning this fight." Zangetsu said as he walked out from the rubble of the old building, his sword swirling with a blue reiatsu.

They both looked at Ichigo, who's sword was now ablaze with black/red reiatsu. "I will miss you both." Ichigo said as he charged in towards the others, who met him mid-way. As the three charged, yelling with all their might in hopes that they would be victor, they unleashed their strongest attacks, causing the world to slowly fade away to a pure white space.

Hueco Mundo

Ichigo's attack tore across the field, and his opponents met it with their strongest techniques, creating a huge explosion that towered high into the sky and engulfing everyone. After a short while, the smoke cleared, revealing everyone to be mostly unharmed, but with tattered and torn clothes. "There goes another hat." Kisuke said sadly as he pulled the frayed hat from his head and dusted it off.

"Stop whining, you have a whole stock of them." Yoruichi said as she stretched her arms high into the air.

"Geez, he sure is a sap." Isshin grumbled as he flopped down onto the sand and starred into the sky.

"Where is he?" Lilynette asked, as Stark released their ressureccion.

"Over there." Ulquiorra pointed as his black/green reiatsu faded away, leaving him in his usual form

"Huh? What's he . . oh." She said as she saw Ichigo off in the distance.

Ichigo – moments before

Just before his attack hit, Ichigo used sonido to get to Rukia, who he quickly picked up and transported away, barely escaping the explosion. Once they were to the edge of the explosion, Ichigo set her down on the ground and check her injuries.

She had many cuts and scratches on her now hollow-like skin, but the worst wound by far was the large gash deep into her stomach. Tears began to form in Ichigo's eyes as he tried to think of a way to save her. As he tried to check the rest of her, he smashed his hand down onto the sand, when he cut his hand on Zangetsu, causing him to curse at his stupidity during this situation. As he watched his wound, his scowl faded away as the cut quickly healed, leaving fresh, brand new flesh.

His eyes widened in realization, as he quickly thought of an idea. He bit his tongue hard and kept his jaw clenched to keep the wound from healing as he let the blood flow. After the blood began filling his mouth, he unclenched his teeth and placed his hand over her mask. His hand glowed faintly for a moment before the mask and shell covering her body shattered, and he lifted her head up. She opened her eyes barely. "Ichigo?" she said in a weak voice. He stopped and looked her in the eyes as a soft smile spread across his face.

"Drink this." he said in a soft, mixed tone voice, before leaning down and kissing her, letting the blood flow into her mouth. She coughed and sputtered at first, but he kept their lips locked for a moment longer before he pulled away.

For a moment, nothing happened, but he soon began glowing in a light black/red aura, which spread to engulf them both. Streams of his reiatsu peeled away from him, causing him to slowly return to normal, as they made their way to Rukia, dissapearing into her skin. After he was mostly normal, the reiatsu faded, and he stared at her with a worried expression as she lay motionless in his arms

Her wounds were healed, and they were both almost completely normal with the exception of their long hair. After a few moments she let out a short gasp and opened her eyes, which swirled with her hollowish black/icy blue color for a few short seconds before returning to normal.

Inner World Aftermath

As the three stared charged each other, their attacks and weapons exploded, causing the world to fade into a space of pure white.

"What the hell?" Hichigo said in surprise as he looked down and saw himself breaking down into red reishi.

"This is odd." Tensa Zangetsu said as he himslef faded into black reishi.

"So this is it?" Ichigo said as he looked at his hadn, which slowly crumbled into blue reishi particles.

The particles floated around until all three faded away before coming together in a swirling mass. As they mixed and colided, they came together to form Ichigo in his Segunda Etapa form.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Hichigo's voice yelled out, coming from no where as it echoeing across the space. Ichigo blinked his eyes and looked around.

"I kinda agree with him." Ichigo said as he looked himself over.

"Maybe this was supposed to happen?" Zangetsu's voice rang out.

"I am not sharing control with you two." Hichigo said in a dark voice.

"You don't have to!" Ichigo yelled out as a scowl appeared on his face.

"Agreed, we should only let him out during fights." Zangetsu said evenly.

"Oh . . . well I'm fine with that, as long as I get to kick some ass every once in a while." Hichigo answered in a thoughtful voice.

"It's a deal, now shut the hell up." Ichigo said as he closed his eyes and the world faded away. W

When he opened his eyes, he saw his attack fly towards his father and the others, but his attention went into quickly looked for Rukia. Once he found her, he rushed to her side.

Hueco Mundo – Current Time

Rukia stared up at Ichigo, who was holding her in his arms. "Ichigo? Wha . . what happened?" she asked with a look of confusion.

"Oh, you know. I went a little crazy and ended up trying to kill everyone." He said with a big grin, caushing her to let out a sigh and smile.

"You should really stop doing that." She said, giving him a scolding gaze.

"I know, I know." He said happily, raising his right hand. "I solemnly swear to never again go mad and attack someone who doesn't deserve it." He finished, bringing his hand down and running it through her hair. "I kinda like it like this." He said, earning a small smile from her.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She said happily bring her hand up to feel the hair that fell over his shoulders.

"I think you should leave it like this." He said with a smile as he leaned in for another kiss.

"I'll think about it." She said before kissing him back.

"I love you Rukia." He said between two kisses.

"Took you long enough." She said with a large smile, before returning his kisses.

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(Translations)

Cielos colmillo retorcido – Spanish for "Heavens twisted fang" (Special thanks for this one go to Heir of Schiffer, who came up with the idea)

(Authors Note)

Did you like Ichigo's new form? It took me a while to think of a Segunda Etapa and that was the only good idea that came to me. Some may complain about the lack of detail that went into Orihime, Chad, and Uryuu's Hollowfication, but it wasn't the main idea of this chapter. I had to acknowledge the gaining of the abilities, but I don't plan on going into full detail of what they got out of the transformation until a later chapter.

AAAAAAAAAAAAANNND, just to cover up any hate, I threw in some IchiRuki, which I know everyone loves, so i'm hopin everyone liked some part of it.

Please R&R or send any questions you may have to me in a PM. See ya later.


	14. Old Friends, New Enemies

Hey there. Long time no see huh?

I'm extremely sorry for the wait. I fell into a horrible writers block and once i managed to get out of it I ended up re-writing the chapter nearly twenty ties before I had something I didn't hate.

I'm sure there are some screw ups somewhere in this chapter since I only ran through it myself and I tend to some obvious things.

This story jumps a decade after the last chapter. At first I wanted to continue off from directly after the last chapter, but the chapters I wrote for that scenario never seemed quite right to me. This one seemed to fit in with what I wanted, AND I even brought in someone I'm sure some people will love to hate. hope you enjoy.

please R&R

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_This part of the story continues around 8 - 10 years after the last chapter. Soul Society has prepared for either Aizen or Ichigo to _attack, while Ichigo and the other's have been training to fight Aizen.

Soul Society – Rangiku Matsumoto

The light trickled in through the window, spreading speckles of light throughout the room and illuminating the slumbering figure of a woman resting on a sofa. She stirred as she slept, mumbling as beads of sweat formed across her body. Her movements increased until finally she woke, sitting up and breathing hard. She looked at her arm, where her lieutenant badge rested, and pulled out a small note from behind it. How Ichigo had manged to get the note to her, she may never know, but she was grateful. The letter contained only a few words, but it had helped her realize what was important.

"Matsumoto! Where are you?" She heard Hitsugaya yell from his office. She stood up and dusted herself off before leaving the room in a hurry, "Coming Captain." She called out. She made sure she looked fine before entering his office. "Hello Captain! She called out, as she jumped at him. "Bingo!" She thought as she successfully landed her chest in in face. Teasing the captain was one of her few joys now days, and she had vowed to take every chance. She saw his ears go bright red as he tried to push himself away.

Finally gaining freedom, he pushed her away and drew in a few deep breaths. Rangiku looked him over. She couldn't get over at how much he had grown recently. If this was the real world, she'd guess he was in middle school. He had grown a bit taller and his body showed his muscles a bit more, giving him a more mature look.

Once he had regained his breath he stared her down. "What the hell Rangiku? Every time I turn around I have you shoving those boulders in my face!" He said with a exasperated glare. She loved that she got under his skin like that. "But Captain, I just thought I'd give you some experience. You're a growing boy and it's only healthy." She said in a teasing voice, placing her arms under her chest to emphasize her assets. She was doing her best not to laugh as she watched Toushiro go beat red while he simply stared in astonishment. He put his head down and slowly pointed a finger towards the door. " . . . out" she heard him mumble. "What was that Captain?" she asked him in the same teasing voice. "GET OUT!" He roared. She flew out of teh room, suppressing her laughter as she ran.

A few minutes later she found herself walking around, not really sure where she was heading. She felt better now after teasing Toushiro, but she still had big problems to worry about. Since she had received the letter, she and some others had been secretly meeting to plan a way to either sabotage or escape Soul Society. The group was still to small to do anything major, but each member was very skilled and extremely loyal. The note, containing Gin's last words to her, had been enough to make her realize she couldn't follow Soul Society now.

Since she had nowhere else to go, she made her way to the hideout, making sure noone else was around. The entrance was in a small room that was embedded in the side of a cliff. The room itself was far to small for their meetings, but the small ladder in the back lead to a far greater chamber. At one side of the valley like room stood the remains of thousands of swords and deep gashes in the earth. It was Renji, an unofficial member, who told her that it was from Ichigo's Bankai training. Renji had stumbled into one of the meetings on accident, claiming he still used teh secret area to train occasionally. He had swore to keep their group a secret, but had told them he couldn't take part in their actions.

Despite all of their efforts, it had been leaked that a group of "traitors" were lurking in Seireitei. As she jumped down into the room, a group of twenty or so Shinigami came into view. There were small campsites here and their, and even a small medical tent. These were the Shinigami who had been listed as traitors and nearly caught. Rangiku and the others had managed to save a few dozen, and even more surprising than that, they had been successful in getting a small group of their people into Hueco Mundo on a scouting mission. They had had a small celebration after receiving a short letter from Rukia and Ichigo, explaing tahat the group had made their way to Ichigo and were now safe.

Once she was near the closest set of tents, a young male shinigami ran out and greeted her, "Would you like something to drink Miss Matsumoto?" He asked. Rangiku game him a light smile and shook her head as she kept walking. She knew it was bad leadership skills, but she could barely remember the names of most of the people here. So she made her way to the medical Tent. "Hanataro! You in there?" She yelled out. Just like she thought, it had barely taken a second for crashing sounds to fill the tent while Hanataro yelled out in suprise. A minute or so later he managed to crawl outside of the tent.

Hanataro was the same size as he alwasy was, but he looked a bit less child-like now. He had been taken into custody of the second devision after they found out he was a part of the "resistance group." He had received a few scars on his chest and arms from their interrogations, but he had been rescued before releasing any relevant information. Still, he was twice as jumpy now days, but Rangiku was determined to fix that.

"Wow Hanataro! You've gotten even less bumps and brusies than last time. You really are getting better." She told him happily. He laughed lightly as he pulled out his zanpakuto and touched it to his wounds. The red smoke they emitted didn;t even register on it's gauge. "I'm sure I would have never been able to do it without your help." he said with some nervousness. "So how is everything up top?" He asked her as he put Hisagomaru in its sheath. She couldn't help but let a small grimace cross her face "Captain Kurotsuchi is getting worse. His experiments are getting more crazy every day. Now he is even asking the Captain Commander's permission to create more modified souls, so that the dead bodies of the Bankai failures can be utilized. I'm not sure how effective they would be, but I'm sure Ichigo shouldn't have to much to worry about. Its still a creepy thought though." She said with a small shiver.

Hanataro

Hanataro looked down at the ground. He had always hated Captain Kurotsuchi, who was the only person Hanataro could truly say he hated. Ever since Ichigo had left, everything had began to spiral into a dark place, and near the heart of its source was Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He had taken up his chance to expand his experiments even further, and had even gained permission to freely experiment on any person who wasn't "necessary." Through his experiments he had created some gruesome horrors, which he unleashed on his successful subjects to test their of the first generation subjects had died, but one still remained.

Without really thinking, Hanataro looked over to a tent that sat away from the others. It had been unoccupied for a while now but no one had wanted to sleep in it or take it down so it simply remained. It's last occupant had been a girl who had somewhat disturbed Hanataro. She was the last sole survivor of Mayuri's failed "Artificial Shinigami" project. He had attempted to mass produce Shinigami with abilities that could be pre-determined, but all of them had died shortly after being awoken. Only one girl had survived, and eventually found her way to the resistance. She had stuck to herself for nearly her entire stay, but when the selection of the group that was to sneak to Hueco Mundo was being picked, she demanded to be part of it. Most people only agreed to get rid of her, but now Hanataro wondered what she was doing.

He didn't have long to think before he noticed Matsumoto staring him down. He did his best to smile, but he knew he looked nervous. "Umm, yes Rangiku?" He managed to ask in an even voice. She stared him down a few moments longer before she turned and walked away towards the training area. "I'm gonna go check up on Keiji. I'll stop by again before I leave." She yelled as she disappeared behind a nearby row of tents. "Okay." He yelled after her. He walked back into his tent, bumping his way through boxes of medical supplies that he had been able to get his hands on. He looked over at a support post of his tent that had a picture of the original resistance group that formed a few years ago. In the far corner of the picture sat a young woman with long black hair that kept her distance from the group. He once again his thoughts drifted off towards her.

Los Noches – Yuna Hokaido

In a dark room, with nearly no lighting, the pale figure of a woman was barely noticeable as she slept in her bed. Every once in a while a faint sigh would escape her mouth and she would shift herself restlessly on the bed. As she moved, the moonlight reached her face, revealing a beautiful woman with long black hair and skin that seemed to glow in the moonlight. Her face reddened slightly before she one again let out a soft sigh. "Oh, Ichigo" She breathed, letting out a faint giggle that brought a soft smile to her face. She continued to smile for a time before the smile was replaced with a grimace. "You don't need her." she whispered to herself as she slept. "No, please don't leave me Lord Ichigo." she murmured again. " . . no . . . no . . . " she began to move more before finnally her hand shot into the darkness and grabbed the hilt of a wakizashi. "NO!" She screamed as she instantly shot up and hurled the blade into a nearby wall.

She was breathing heavily and her eyes were wide, revealing her pure black pupils. After she had let herself calm down, she got up from her bed and changed into black kimono and walked over to the her zanpakuto. Pulling it out of the wall. As she exited the dark room, the light from the hallway illuminated the place her sword had hit. It had hit the picture of another woman dead center in the face. She hated her. She wouldn't let things stay as they were. Rukia Kuchiki didn't deserve Yuna's Lord Ichigo.

* * *

sooo, how was it? It was kinda short but I kinda feel like im dragging the chapter along to much if I go to far past 2k words, so I cut this one off a little short. I will have the next one out much sooner. I swear on my beard. (Yeah, I got a beard. creepy huh?)

Besides that I have two question for anyone who cares. What do you think of my diabolical creation known as Yuna Hokaido? Question 2 - How many people cried cause they thought the bleach manga about had the worst ending ever? Thank god it's still going.

well, it's 2 a.m. and I gotta be at college at 8, so good morning :)


	15. Unleashing a Monster

A/N- Hello again! I know it's been a while, and this chapter did not come out quick enough in my opinion, but I do have my reason for slowing down. I hope you like this chapter, even though it doesn't quite follow the last chapter.

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Random Desert of Hueco Mundo

In the endless desert, a group of warriors dressed in white ran across a sand sea shrouded in darkness, lit only by the stars in the sky. Leading them was a slim built man with sky blue hair who scouted the area with a look of distaste.

"Do you see him yet, Grimmjow?" a woman with short, fiery hair to his left called out as she scanned the darkness surrounding them with a look of both fear and excitement.

"Shut up woman!" Grimmjow roared, causing the girl to jump a little and smile devilishly.

The third member of the group was a man with short black hair stayed silent as he moved forward into the darkness, staring straight ahead.

The group came to a halt as the stars disappeared from the sky, making the desert a pitch black void.

The woman licked her lips as she looked around with wide eyes into the emptiness. "I know this might sound dumb, but it kinda turns me on when he does this." She spoke out softly, causing Grimmjow to stare at her with disgust.

"I swear, if you pull your usual crap, I'll skin ya alive when we get back." He said as he turned away and pulled out his sword. "Keep to the plan for once." He grumbled once before launching himself into the darkness.

"Geez, like he's one to talk." The woman grumbled as she checked her wrist, where a skull shaped watch displayed the time. "The main force should be ready soon so we need to start I guess." She then stuck her hand out into the air before her, where a spark of brilliant red flame appeared, spreading out to form a zanpakuto that was as tall as her and without a guard. Grabbing the sword from the air before her, she looked over at the man next to her. "You remember what to do Ryuuji?" The man nodded once before disappearing into a different direction.

The girl took a few seconds as she looked around. She checked her outfit. She wore a modified uniform that consisted of a pair of high cut shorts and thigh length boots, along with a tight fitting, long sleeve jacket that left a bit of her chest exposed. She looked forward as if checking her appearance in a mirror. Turning to the side and striking a flirtatious pose, she blew a kiss to her fake mirror, readied her blade, and ran out into the night. "Time to catch a winner Saki!" she thought to herself.

Off in the distance, the flames of battle began to rage.

Soul Society

"Captain, we received a letter from the 3rd seat. He said it was urgent." An unknown shinigami said nervously as he handed over the letter, then quickly leaving the presence of his captain. The captain looked at the letter for a moment. It wasn't too often that Anyone in Soul Society sent actually letters, especially ones signed with a crude drawing of a rabbit.

"Let's go" the captain called out to his lieutenant, letting the letter vaporize in the presence of his rising reiatsu. "We just got invited to a party."

Hueco Mundo

"Damnit woman, start attacking like you mean it!" Grimmjow roared as he lifted himself from a mound of sand. He was now in his ressureccion and was covered in deep cuts and bruised all over. He grimaced as he looked up and saw Saki, who was only fighting for show.

Saki, who was up in the air fighting, could barely hold in her excitement as she rushed in for attack after attack. "Shut up you dirty alley cat!" She scolded as swung her Zanpakuto, which was now wreathed in flames. She was countered and knocked back easily by her enemy, which was human like figure that was more of a shadow than an solid being.

On the ground below, Ryuuji was breathing heavily while attempting to stop the bleeding from a deep gash across his chest, which was healing at a noticeable rate. He had been caught off guard by the opponent while searching, and had woken up to find his allies fighting around him. He had watched Grimmjow had fight for nearly twenty minutes before being sent being sent flying into his current position.

Saki had appeared just in time, but was not fighting an offensive battle. Every time she came close to hitting the enemy, she would purposefully miss the target, or make the blow too weak to do any lasting damage. Ryuuji looked down at a small watch that hung around his neck. It was almost time.

He heard a thud as Saki landed next to him, rubbing her butt from the impact. "No fair! I can't fight him seriously at all." She pouted. The shadow landed before her, holding her flaming sword in its hand. It held the blade in his hand for a moment before shattering it into pieces of flame that floated in the air briefly before dying out. The shadow bent down and reached for Saki, and as its hand neared, the shadows broke away, revealing a young man in black shihakusho with slighty shaggy, spiky orange hair.

"Lord Ichigo." Ryuuji said politely as he started to get to his feet. His eyes widened when Ichigo appeared in from of him placing a hand on his shoulder. He barely had time to blink before His surrounding changed from a dark desert, to a well lit white room with a lovely woman sitting before him. "Hello Miss Orihime." said, quickly recovering from his surprise.

Back in the desert, Saki had watched as Ichigo and Ryuuji had vanished, with only Ichigo returning barely a second later, filling the air with a thundering boom from his extraordinarily fast movement. He looked over at her with a soft smile. "Good work Saki, but you really need to stop holding back against me." He told her, clearly pointing out her failure. She adopted a wounded look and stared at him with a look like a wounded puppy.

"B-but what if I accidentally put a scratch on that face of yours, or cut your clothes, or even trimming of a bit of your hair by mistake!" She pouted as she reached up for him. He gave her a look like she was slightly mad. "No way," he told her, making her put more effort into her wounded look. "I know what you're planning, and it ain't happening. Sll of you already got Rukia mad at me."

"She won't find out!" She whimpered, as she quit and began to stand. The watch on her wrist began beeping off as a timer triggered. Ichigo looked in the opposite direction, dropping his guard long enough to be tackled by Saki, who now straddled him, laughing at her success. "Ok, ok." Ichigo grumbled, laying on the sand, watching as she leaned forward, closed her eyes, and gave him a passionate kiss. When she opened her eyes, she was back in her room, sitting on a bed all by herself. She let out a soft giggle and let herself fall backwards onto her bed.

"I don't know why I have to be the one." Ichigo grumbled as he appeared back in the desert, finding a Grimmjow with a victorious look in his eyes and a malicious grin on his face.

"You're in deep shit now lover boy." He cackled. Pointing a clawed finger at Ichigo, who gave him a look of hate.

"If you tell anyone, I'll show Lily this." Ichigo said emotionlessly, reaching into the shadows and drawing out a picture, which caused all the color to drain from Grimmjow's face. In the picture was a child Grimmjow in ressureccion, a product of Urahara and Ryo's experients. Both of them knew that if some of the others saw this, especially Lilynette, Grimmjow would probably never be able to be taken seriously again. Ichigo sure couldn't take anything about him seriously when he saw the photo.

Grimmjow rushed forward and cut the photo in half, then destroying the remains with a few bala. Looking pleased with himself he look up at Ichigo, who was holding five more copies, now in larger size. "FINE! You win damnit, but if you ever show those I promise I'll tell her everything." Grimmjow said darkly before walking away a little and opening a Garganta, disappearing. Ichgio pushed the photo's back into the shadows before opening a Garganta of his own, but instead of stepping into it, he stepped back. He reached for Zangetsu and was instantly surrounded in a black reiatsu, which disappeared just as quickly to reveal his Bankai. He barely had time to raise his sword as the air around him began to tremor, and a man launched himself from the Garganta, colliding blades with Ichigo and pushing him onto the defensive, laughing all the while.

Ichigo took a chance to separate from the man, dashing backwards a few meters before stopping. Already in front of him, grinning like the devil himself, stood Kenpachi Zaraki, no eye-patch, no bells, and 100% ready for a fight to the death.

"Glad you could make it Zaraki." Ichigo said with calm determination ,going in for an attack on the strongest fighter in Soul Society as his body began to exude pure black reiatsu.

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A/N- For a helpfull hint of Saki's sword, think of Hyourinmaru, except with no guard. thats the general shape, and as for Ryuuji, he will be discussed later.

Other than that, how was it? It was by no means my best work, but its a step towards the final destination. Also, sorry for any major screw ups since i didnt use anyone else for spell checking or finding any other errors.

Finally, to answer a question i have gotten from a few people. No, I don't plan on abandoning the story, but I have played with the idea of re writing it to make both major and minor alterations that only occurred to me recently.

Once again, please R&R, thanks for the support and forgive me for any future waiting times.


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